The Nigerian Armed Forces has said that the death of 10 innocent civilians during an air raid of a Lakurawa terrorists’ stronghold in Sokoto State was a needless tragedy.
 
This came as the Northern Youth Star Initiative (NYSI) has asked the Federal Government to probe the killing and punish those found liable.  Defence Media Operations spokesman, Major General Edward Buba, in a statement on Friday, noted that the Armed Forces of Nigeria has a duty to defend citizens from terrorists either through peaceful means or the force of arms.  
 
According to him, it is in discharge of this responsibility that on December 25, 2024, a coordinated joint operation was conducted between the Air Component and the Land Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA to destroy Lakurawas Terrorists Group (LTG) hideouts at Gidan Bisa and Gidan Runtuwa in Jirikon Forest in Silame Local Council of Sokoto State.  
 
“Prior to the operation, there were heightened terrorists activities in the area. The military conducted sustained Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions for over extended periods to painstakingly confirm that those hibernating in the area were Lakurawa terrorists. 
 
“Significantly, the operation was rescheduled from an earlier date to December 25, 2024, in order to allow for further confirmation using Human Intelligence (HUMINT). The joint operation was planned such that the Air Component’s precision strike capability was complemented by the Land Component’s boots on the ground.
 
“Pre-operation ISR missions confirmed significant terrorist activity within the general area. HUMINT reports equally corroborated the ISR findings, emphasising the strategic importance of neutralising the location.” he said.
 
Buba disclosed that aircraft subsequently conducted a precision airstrike on the identified hideouts around 6am.  He said the strike was executed with precision-guided munitions to minimise collateral damage.
 
“The Land Component deployed at blocking positions around the target location to prevent the escape of Lakurawas terrorist. They also provided immediate post-strike assessment and follow-up actions. 
 
“Following the airstrike, ground forces moved into the area to assess the strike’s impact. The ground forces confirmed that the hideout was successfully neutralised, with minimal damage observed in the surrounding village.  The ground forces interacted with the locals in area who confirmed presence of the Lakurawas terrorist in the general area. 
 
“The airstrike achieved its primary objective of neutralising the Lakurawa terrorists in their concentration area. The destruction of key infrastructure used by the terrorist including arms cache and logistics dumps confirmed strike’s effectiveness. The air strike on the terrorist arms cache and logistics dump led to other secondary explosions causing hoarded munitions to explode in different directions that resulted in 10 deaths. Efforts are ongoing to determine whether or not they were terrorist collaborators. 
 
“Meanwhile, locals of the area confirmed that Lakurawas terrorist stayed in the village and use the general areas as staging area for their operation. ISR and HUMINT reports prior to the operation consistently indicated the hideout was a high-concentration terrorist location.
 
Overall, troops will continue to take painstaking measures to avoid civilian casualties. All civilian casualties are viewed as a needless tradegy. Nevertheless, we will not relent in targeting and dislodging terrorist across our nation.”
 
While condemning the death of innocent civilians in the operation, the group, in a statement issued to journalists in Kaduna by the Director General of the Movement, Dr. Abdullahi Idris, on Friday, said that although there were conflicting accounts of the incident between the villagers and state officials on one hand, and the military authorities on the other, what is incontrovertible is the fact that the communities were bombed and innocent persons died.
 
Idris called on the Federal Government to set up an independent investigative committee to find out the truth of what transpired. Recalling a similar bombing of Tudun Biri community in Kaduna State while they were peacefully celebrating Eid-el Maulud last year, Idris said these “errors are getting too many and too costly in terms of human lives”, calling on the military authorities to take urgent measures to stem the ugly tide. 
 
“An independent high level investigation should be carried out immediately, and those found liable should be punished and adequate and commensurate compensation should be given to those that lost their loved ones in the unfortunate incident,” the NYSI leader added.

THE Federal Government has said it will conduct a thorough investigation into Wednesday’s accidental bombing that killed 10 people in  Gidan Bisa and Runtuwa villages of Silame Local Council, Sokoto State.

The Minister of State, Defence, Bello Mutawalle, gave this indication while on a condolence visit to Governor Ahmed Aliyu in Sokoto. He described what happened in the two villages as very unfortunate, assuring that thorough investigations would be conducted with a view to finding out what really happened for justice to be done on the matter.

“Mr President is worried by the unfortunate incident and he asked me to come and condole with you over what happened,” he said. The minister added that at times the military air strikes hit wrong locations due to the wrong information they may have been given while carrying out operations.

He, however, said that security reports had confirmed that the area where the incident happened was being dominated by the Lakurawa bandits. He lamented the way and manner Nigeria has been placed on red alert on terrorism, reiterating the commitment of the Federal Government to make the country safe.

The minister extolled the commitment of Aliyu in the fight against banditry and other criminal activities in the state. Responding, the governor called on the military to improve on their information gathering and surveillance so as to avoid hitting the wrong targets. He commended the military and other security agencies for their commitment in  making the state safe. He thanked President Bola Tinubu for the concern he has shown over the accidental bombing of the two villages in the state.