The recent mayhem of the bombing unleashed by a drone belonging to the Nigerian military, on the defenceless citizens of Tudun Biri, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on Sunday, December 3, 2023 snuffing the life out of some 120 innocent lives is most reprehensible and unacceptable! The horrendous spectacle reminds us of a scary scene out of a midnight horror movie. Though surreptitiously coined as “accidental bombing” it only reminds us again of the scarce regards for the sanctity of the precious and irreplaceable human life, as sadly and paradoxically exhibited by those statutorily entrusted with its protection. There lies the pain. According to several news media reports, a large number of some Muslim faithful were gathered together celebrating the birthday anniversary of Prophet Muhammed when the bombing took place at about 10 pm on that fateful night.

As some survivors have stated, the bombing was twice, with them erroneously believing that the onslaught was masterminded by some terrorists. Initially, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) put the casualty figures at 85 deaths and 66 people sustaining different degrees of injury. Several children, women, and the elderly fell as voiceless victims. In fact, one family reportedly lost 32 members! That was the report on Monday night of December 4, 2023. But the latest figures stand at over 120. But in reaction, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, explained that the soldiers mistook the villagers for terrorists, pleading for forgiveness!

In a statement by the Army Spokesperson, Brig-Gen. Onyema Nwachuckwu, the group was on “aerial patrol when they observed a group of people and wrongly analysed and misinterpreted their pattern of activities to be similar to that of bandits”, leading them to carry out the drone attack. This was similarly confirmed by the General Officer Commanding One Division, Nigerian Army, Major V. U. Okoro. Notwithstanding the position of the Army, these came after another report had claimed that the military was chest-beating about the success of the same operation that had flushed out many terrorists. In fact, there was an earlier report mistakenly stating that the bombing was carried out by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) until its spokesperson, Edward Gabkwet dismissed the claim. As he explained, the air force is not the only organization operating combat armed drones in the embattled North-West region of the country.

While that is the truth, the cloudy security horizon as painted by the military has expectedly triggered some critical responses. Apart from Amnesty International (AI) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) asking for the President Ahmed Tinubu- led government to beam a searchlight into what really transpired at Tudun Biri on that darkest of nights the president has ordered a full-fledged into what he described as a “bombing mishap” that is both “worrying and painful”. Such an investigation has some pertinent questions to answer. For instance, how was the gathering of Muslims mistaken for bandits or terrorists, on a day of celebration, worse still by trained military officers? If it was indeed a miscalculation, why did the bombing take place twice, as revealed by some of the surviving victims? And what types of punishments have been meted out to those behind similar errant bombings, especially in the troubled northern geo- political zones?

It would be recalled that in February 2014 a Nigerian military aircraft dropped a bomb at Daglum in Borno State killing 20 civilians. Furthermore, in April 2019 a military air raid hit Tangram and killed one Sakinah, leaving the child severely injured. And in September 2022 there were at least 14 documented incidences of such bombings over the past decade. But such incidents must not be allowed to become a recurring ugly decimal in our security operations. At this point, we appreciate the concerns raised by the lawmakers over the unfortunate incident, by the 109 senators donating their December salaries amounting to N109 million, to the surviving victims. That was announced by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau.

But we hereby call for a thorough and unbiased investigation into the serious matter and the need to bring those culpable to speedy justice, no matter whose ox is gored. That would serve as a form of deterrence to others with similar evil inclinations. The military should also institute and enforce discipline and decorum to all members in the discharge of their duties of protecting the territorial integrity of the country, Nigeria.

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