Nigerian Military Accidental Discharge

Picture the joy that comes with travelling to the village to celebrate, the reunion of families, the reconnection of old friends, and the opportunity to eat good food in the company of loved ones. This was the mood in Tundun Biri village before tragedy struck on Sunday evening. The villagers had gathered for the Maulud celebrations in honour of the prophet Mohammed, but that joy turned into sorrow at about 9 pm last night when the military “mistakenly” bombed them.

Mallam Jabir was the first to break the unfortunate news via his X account. His post was, however, met with mixed reactions. While some believed him and expressed sadness, others reacted with disbelief and even called him a liar. The news, however, turned out to be true, with the Nigerian military taking responsibility after the Nigerian Air Force had been erroneously accused of the attack by the public.

The Military claimed to have mistaken the villagers for bandits, and so released drones via an air strike on the village. The military officer disclosed this at a meeting with the deputy governor of Kaduna, security chiefs, and other stakeholders. The Deputy Governor condoled with the bereaved and tasked the military to investigate the incident.

A lot of Nigerians have, however, questioned the position of the Kaduna state government and the Nigerian military, noting that there have been similar occurrences in the past, which include 15 reported through the media and others that escaped media coverage. The results of “investigations” were never made public, and neither were the heads of the implicated security forces held accountable.

A report by The Humanitarian and Vice News in July @023 alleged that the Nigerian Armed forces had destroyed hundreds of villages by launching clearance operations against communities. In so doing, they have destroyed livestock and properties, displaced many, and caused a significant number of civilian deaths.

The report accused the military of Gross violation of International Humanitarian law and claimed they had satellite images, photographs, and videos to back these accusations.
The report also stated that the UN believes that the counter-insurgency war has directly or indirectly killed as many as 350 thousand Nigerians and uprooted at least 2.5 million others.

It also reported that some of the villagers who have been victims of both the terrorists and the Nigerian soldiers believe that although both groups are extremely wicked, the Nigerian forces are worse. Some of these survivors pleaded to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the members of the Armed forces.

It is, however, important to note that although the military has taken responsibility for the incident, the currently available photos do not look like the aftermath of a bombing.

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Sholape Irepodun

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