Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has said the admission of guilt and profound apologies offered to the victims of the recent accidental bombing in Igabi local government area of Kaduna State by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa and the chief of Army staff Lt.General Taoreed Lagbaja are positive and right beginning steps towards finding redress for the dead and their surviving relatives.
HURIWA in a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko stated that the decision by the top brass of the Nigerian Army and General Christopher Gwabin Musa to own up to their operational errors leading up to the unfortunate incident that has left over one hundred villagers dead, shows that democracy has positively impacted on the institution of the military in Nigeria.
Onwubiko said the apologies are deep philosophical indication that the military institution had no plan to cover up their mistakes unlike what was obtained during the 8-year administration of the retired General Muhammadu Buhari in which the military authority failed to acknowledge their mistakes and till date, many Nigerians in the North East who got killed in some bombing accidents during the last administration have been forgotten.
“HURIWA whilst calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the military authority and the National Assembly of Nigeria, to undertake comprehensive investigation to ascertain the remote and immediate circumstances surrounding the bombing accident in a village in Southern Kaduna in which villagers of all beliefs systems and ethnicities perished, we particularly want to emphasize the symbolism in the honesty displaced in the public apologies rendered profusely first by the Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Gwabin Musa and then followed by a visit to the families of the victims and their survivors, by the Chief of Army staff, lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, and we wish to state categorically, in a honesty, that these apologies show that the military believe in constitutional democracy and have started accepting the need for transparency and accountability. Nigerians must continue to support the war on terror and must never be deceived by the propaganda of those who support the terrorists, not to offer their absolute solidarity and support to the military so there would be a swift, decisive and clinical and quick end to the bloody attacks on Nigerians by all kinds of terrorists, armed bandits, armed herders, armed kidnappers and so peace, stability and security are returned and restored in Nigeria as quickly as possible.”
HURIWA recalled that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, on Tuesday, described the deadly airstrike that killed 85 people and injured several others in Kaduna State as regrettable.
The army chief, who visited the site of the mishap that has thrown the nation into a sorrowful mood, apologised on behalf of the Nigerian Army to the community, the government, and the people of Kaduna State.
He promised to guard against such an occurrence in the conduct of military operations.
“My assessment of that unfortunate incident of Sunday, December 3, 2023, is that it is grave, regrettable. We will do everything possible to prevent such an occurrence from happening again in the conduct of our operations going forward,” he said about one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents.
The army chief was accompanied by principal staff officers from the army headquarters and the General Officer Commanding 1 Division and also met with the Dangaladima Zazau, the District Head of Rigasa, Architect Aminu Idris, other leaders, and members of the community.
Speaking on Arise Television, the defence chief noted that going forward, the military would fine-tune its operations and ensure that such incidents do not reoccur.
In a similar vein, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), yesterday, explained that the targets hit by the military drone in the Kaduna bombing were gotten by air surveillance presuming that terrorists, who were in the habit of using civilians as shield, were operating at the time.
The DHQ regretted the civilian casualties and claimed it always did its best to distinguish between civilians and terrorists. It said the suspicious movement of the allegedly celebrating crowd, had posed a major threat in an area notorious for terrorist activities, thus propelling the drone attack.
HURIWA therefore called on the military to be much more precise and to escalate the war on terror with the objective of neutralising the actual terrorists and should use only intelligence guided approaches to eliminate the actual perpetrators of terrorism in Nigeria.
The rights group also said there should be zero-tolerance for careless errors which may lead to unnecessary loss of precious lives of innocent civilians in the war on terror.