Mr Rafiu Lawal, Executive Director Building Blocks for Peace Foundation.
By Angela Atabo
Building Blocks for Peace Foundation (BBFORPEACE), an NGO working on conflict prevention, peacebuilding, human rights and accountability has condemned the bombing by the Nigerian Military of Tudun Biri Village in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna.
Mr Rafiu Lawal, Executive Director Building Blocks for Peace Foundation, in a statement in Abuja, also called for a thorough investigation into the bombing .
Lawal said that the mistake which killed over 85 people including women and children on Dec. 3 was an avoidable error.
“We therefore call on the President Tinubu-led administration to seriously investigate this occurrence and ensure those responsible for this inhuman act are prosecuted according to the laws of the land and ensure that this does not happen anymore.
“The Nigerian military has very unfortunately managed to earn itself a reprehensible reputation for “mistakenly” bombing villages across the different states of Northern Nigeria.
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” In fact, according to the Dec.5 2023 The PUNCH report, no fewer than 425 persons including children and women had been killed by military accidental bombings between 2017 and 2023.
“This includes: an “accidental” bombing of an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Rann, Borno state, by NAF jet on January 17, 2017, six airstrikes launched on April 9, 2019, in Dumbourou village in Zurmi LGA of Zamfara State.
“Others are :the striking of Kunkuna village in Safana LGA of Katsina State by NAF fighter jet on July 7, 2022, an airstrike by the NAF on Dec. 19, 2022, at Mutumji Community in the Maru LGA of Zamfara State.”
Lawal said the above were few among several other miscalculated cases.
He said that in 2023 alone, the Nigerian military has recorded three mishit cases.
According to him, Nigerians have continued to endure this cruel trend over the years with no evidence that punitive measures were meted out against the perpetrators of this high-level unprofessionalism and gross incompetence within Nigeria’s security architecture.
“We are afraid, that if this trend continues, citizens might look for justice elsewhere and resort to self-help.
“Nigerians are already suffering from the failure of the government to guarantee the security of lives and property across the country coupled with a dwindling economy and shouldn’t be made to pay the ultimate price for a failed counter-terrorism strategy.
“We therefore use this medium to call for a total overhauling of the nation’s security architecture.”
Lawal said that the regrettable and unjustifiable act of killing civilians during military operations highlighted the urgent need for proper training of personnel, intelligence sharing and synergy among our security institutions to enhance precision in military operations to prevent future civilian casualties.
He said that the Federal Government should ensure that victims of the military careless bombing of Tudun Biri Village in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna state on the Dec.3rd and all other previously affected communities in Nigeria were compensated accordingly to remedy their loss.
Lawal said that the all the above measures was imperative because only a well coordinated ,synergised and comprehensive security strategy would help to address the security challenges Nigerians currently face and not a one sector’s act of heroism.
