After nine months, victims of Kaduna drone strike await justice

Nine months after about 88 innocent civilians were ‘mistakenly’ killed in a drone raid in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State, the victims are yet to get justice.

On December 3, 2023, a drone strike by the Nigerian Armed Forces on what was thought to be a group of bandits mistakenly hit Tudun Biri.

The strike occurred as the villagers celebrated Mawlid, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

The incident drew widespread outrage and calls for justice.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, promises of accountability from the military’s high command became a mirage while the victims’ families and Nigerians waited for answers.

The Nigerian Army initially denied responsibility for the attacks but later admitted that 85 people were killed.

The Nigeria office of Amnesty International, citing locals, said 120 people were killed in the attack. Most of the dead were children.

The Army “expressed regret” for the bombing, saying in a statement that troops “wrongly analysed and misinterpreted” activities.

A follow-up statement by Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, described the death of civilians as a “needless tragedy”.

He explained that “terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres for the civilian population to bear the consequences of their actions”.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Taoreed Lagbaja, who visited Tundu Biri to commiserate with the people, tendered an unreserved apology and disclosed that he had ordered a thorough inquiry into the incident.

In his reaction, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered a “thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident” amid calls from different quarters for punishment for those found culpable. The President also declared that such an incident should never reoccur.

Commenting on the incident and the attendant delay in justice, a defence correspondent, Philip Nwosu, said a court martial is essential for the persons involved, urging the military to ensure commensurate compensation to families who lost their loved ones.

Also, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), lamented the delay in justice delivery.

Onwubiko said: “It demonstrates that the military hierarchy is not ready to be accountable because if you admitted that the bombing of the villagers wasn’t intentional, why hasn’t the federal government instituted an independent judicial body of investigators to ascertain precisely what led to the bombing of these innocent villagers?

“The current military hierarchy is guilty of violating the well-known rules of engagement in internal military operations, and it is unacceptable that both the President and the National Assembly have conspired to sweep this atrocity under the carpet.”

He added that the families should approach the International Criminal Court.

When contacted for an update on the issue, Director, Defence Media Operation (DMO) Major General Edward Buba said: “The case is still ongoing at court martial. I will keep you posted once the verdict is pronounced, please.”