The anger and condemnations that trailed the December 3 mistaken drone strike on celebrants of Maulud, a Muslim festival, in Tundu Biri, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State were expected. The number of lives lost is simply horrendous.
One of the celebrants, Idris Dahiru, said he lost 34 family members in the tragedy, while 66 injured ones were taken to Barau Dikko Hospital for medical attention.
Over 120 persons reportedly died in the unfortunate incident, which was described as “one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents.”
Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, who visited the area almost immediately after the incident to commiserate with families of the victims, and to apologise on behalf of the Nigerian military for the accident, described the incident as “very disheartening.”
Condemnations trail incident
The accident had attracted both national and international condemnations, with some relating it to the bombing of innocent Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli military. The UN Human Rights Office, which condemned the bombing, expressed worry that “the strike was based on the ‘pattern of activities’ of those at the scene, which was wrongly analysed and misinterpreted.”
The spokesperson of the UN Right Office, Seif Magango, called for a review of rules of engagement and standard operating procedures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
“While we note that the authorities have termed the civilian deaths as accidental, we call on them to take all feasible steps in future to ensure civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected. There are serious concerns as to whether so-called ‘pattern of life’ strikes sufficiently comply with international law.
“We urge the Nigerian authorities to thoroughly and impartially investigate all alleged violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, including deaths and injuries from air force strikes, and hold those found responsible to account. The government should also provide victims of any unlawful strikes and their families with adequate reparations,” the UN Right Office demanded.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also called for justice to be served for the victims. Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, described as “unacceptable, the continued unlawful killings of civilians” by military air strikes.
The organisation also accused the Nigerian military of cover-up on the issue. According to the international human rights body, it is because nobody is held accountable that the accident continued, but warned that “this unlawful killing of civilians will not be swept under the carpet.”
Human Rights Watch in a statement, also called on government to adequately compensate the victims of the unfortunate incident.
One incident too many
Nigeria had witnessed more than five of such accidental airstrikes before now, resulting in the death of many innocent citizens. But they were not in the same magnitude with the December 3, Kaduna incident.
The most pathetic was the January 17, 2017 mistaken airstrike in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Rann, Borno State. The accident claimed 52 persons, while 120 others were injured. Three years later, on April 13, 2020, 17 people, including children, were killed after a Nigeria Air Force (NAF) fighter jet bombed Sakotoku, a village in Damboa local government area in the same Kaduna State.
There was also the September 15, 2021 incident, when one of the three military warplanes seen flying around Buhari village in Yobe State mistakenly released bomb that killed 10 civilians and injured 20 others. The spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force Edward Gabkwet, however in a statement denied that any of the planes fired any shot.
In January this year, 37 persons were killed in Domain Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. A national newspaper said 425 persons have been killed in such incidents in the country in the last six years. Security experts attribute these accidents to misinterpretation of intelligence report.
For instance, the January 27, 2023 attack in Doma, Nasarawa State, according to PR Nigeria, was based on information that some suspected terrorists were entering an area that shares border with Nasarawa and Benue States. It was in the process of trying to repel such movement that herdsmen who went to Benue to recover their rustled cattle were mistakenly bombed.
The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, who described the Kaduna attack as one too many, advised that security agencies should work with reliable human intelligence report on the ground before any offensive attack to avoid innocent casualties.
“Fatal mistakes like this leave indelible trauma on the families who have lost their loved ones to this ugly and unfortunate mishap,” Obi said.
Need for inter-agency sharing
While the Kaduna incident was blamed on inter-agency rivalry and lack of intelligence sharing, a security expert told New Telegraph that “in the counter-terrorism war, drone strikes at enemy targets ordinarily falls within the purview of the Nigeria Air Force, but the strike on Kaduna came from the Nigeria Army.”
A national newspaper also quoted an unnamed Nigerian Air Force (NAF) officer as saying that NAF officers by their training and equipment have superior air operations compared to other military services.
“Every service or security agency has its dedicated role(s) even though all of us underwent the same training. The truth is, air troops are more conversant with air operations than any other troops whether in flying of drones or attack helicopters,” he was quoted as saying.
This is why there is need for unhindered investigation to unravel the circumstance (s) behind the accident, to prevent future occurrence.
However, Nigerian military is not the only one accused of mistaken strikes on civilian population. The America military also have a dose of it, especially in its war against Al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia.
Although it accepts responsibility from time to time, the American government or military rarely holds anybody or people accountable, except in 2016, when the Pentagon disciplined a dozen military personnel for their roles in the October 2015 airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan where 42 people were killed.
In a drone attack that killed 10 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan in August 29, 2015, which also attracted worldwide condemnations, Pentagon said no one would be held accountable. Its chief spokesman John F. Kirby, attributed it to “a breakdown in process, and execution in procedural events, not the result of negligence, not the result of misconduct, not the result of poor leadership.
“So, I do not anticipate there being issues of personal accountability to be had with respect to the Aug. 29 airstrike.”
This should not be the case in the Tundu Biri accident, given that this accident now seems to becoming a recurring decimal. Holding someone or people responsible and punishing those found culpable or negligent in their duties would be a deterrent to others and prevent future occurrence.
Hope of investigation
It is however heartwarming that both the Nigerian government and the military authorities have promised to investigate the accident and bring whoever that is culpable to book, unlike previous accidents where nobody was held accountable. The government also promised that compensation would be paid the families of the victims.
The Nigerian military had excellent fight against Boko Haram terrorists and undesirable elements in the country, since 2008. The Nigerian Air Force had reportedly carried out over 889 air interdictions, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), on the terrorists. This should not be overlooked the face of this accident.
This is where the appeal of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa, for Nigerians not to judge the Nigerian Armed Forces by the mistaken drone bombing in Tudun Biri community, should be appreciated. This is to ensure that the troops fighting insecurity in the country are not demoralised.
“The incident in Kaduna is indeed, unfortunate and regrettable. It was a mistake and not a deliberate act. And so, I want to appeal to Nigerians not to use this incident to demoralise our troops because we are determined to end all forms of insecurity currently confronting our nation,” the CDS assured.
