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Governor apologises for military, says bombing, killing of villagers in error
The Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, has said the recent airstrike in a Sokoto community was a follow-up operation carefully executed.
The Army Chief, who said this yesterday – Thursday, December 26 – in Sokoto during his visit to the troops of Operation Fasan Yanma of 8 Division Headquarters, stressed:
“The incident was an operation we did. We followed up, and we tried as much as we could to avoid any mistakes. If there were other mistakes that came up in the operation, we would investigate.
“We did our homework, we have the video of everything that happened, and we are going to investigate.”
He warned civilians living with suspected criminals to desist from such acts or face the consequences of their actions, assuring that the military would investigate claims of malicious bombing of the community, but warned that the military would not take any responsibility for anyone harbouring criminals in their midst.
“I want to call on everyone not to harbour any suspected criminals in their midst. They should expose them and leave their vicinity.
“The military is not going to take it lightly with any criminals disturbing the peace of the nation. We are dealing with them, and we are coming for the rest.
“We have individuals that still harbour them and once you do that you are making yourself a legitimate target, will appeal, do not harbor yourself around them, do not live with them to avoid being a legitimate target.
“Please, do not hang yourself around them, do not give them any support in whatever means because once you do that, you are making yourself a target,” General Musa siad.
He called on the media not to give the bandits or other criminal elements much publicity.
Speaking to the issue of foreign military bases in Nigeria, the CDS said the military will not allow any foreign bases on Nigeria soil, calling on neighboring countries like Niger, Chad, and Benin, among others, to cooperate with the country in dealing with the enemy of peace.
The CDS further assured troops of the necessary support and resources to carry out their tasks effectively.
“Your welfare and that of your families remain a top priority, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure your needs are met,” he said.
The CDS also visited the military hospital to check on some of the troops receiving treatment at the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Sokoto State government has confirmed that no fewer than 10 people lost their lives in the military airstrike in the State.
In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor and made available to newsmen yesterday – Thursday, December 26 – in Sokoto, the State capital, the state government said no fewer than 10 people were killed in a military airstrike targeting bandits in Gidan Bisa village of Silame Local Government Area in the early hours of yesterday.
“According to the Chairman of the area, Abubakar Gitta Rana, the incident occurred at about 6am when two military fighter jets erroneously dropped bombs in the village, leaving 10 villagers and many livestock dead,” the State government’s statement read, in part.
“Gov. Ahmed Aliyu, in the company of the APC leader in the State, Sen. Aliyu Wamakko and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, defied the difficult terrain of the village and joined other villagers for the funeral prayers for the deceased.”
The statement said the Governor, while condoling the community, described the incident as unfortunate and an act destined to happen by the Almighty Allah.
“The military jets were on their mission to eliminate criminal armed groups terrorizing the State, and mistakenly bombed innocent people of this community.
“We consider this as a mistake because the same military had on several occasions successfully raided so many criminal hideouts in the state,” he added
The Governor further said a thorough investigation would be conducted to find out what led to the avoidable mistake so as to guard against its recurrence.
Governor Aliyu also prayed to Almighty Allah to forgive the deceased and give their families the strength to bear the loss.
Earlier, the Secretary to the State Government, Muhammad Bello Sifawa, announced a donation of N20 million and 100 bags of assorted food stuffs to the families of the deceased.
He added that the state government will also settle the medical bills of those hospitalized as a result of injuries they sustained from the airstrikes.
