During an unfortunate event on Sunday, an unintended bombing in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna State, resulted in the loss of 85 lives and left numerous others wounded.
Following this incident, Prof Usman Yusuf from the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has called for the resignation of Nigeria’s military top brass, condemning the incident as irresponsible and accusing the military of failing to protect citizens.
Yusuf emphasized that in other nations, the military chiefs would have resigned over such a grave accident.
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“They will all resign; everybody in the chain of command will be fired. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), everybody will go and the President will cut his trip and return home,” he said.
“All of them should go – the CDS, the Chief of Army Staff, the GOC, the operatives, heads must roll.”
Despite President Bola Tinubu appointing new service chiefs in June, Yusuf insisted that the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, and other key figures should step down.
Both General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, and Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff, visited victims’ families and apologized for the regrettable accident.
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The President expressed condolences to the affected families, demanding a thorough investigation.
Yusuf mentioned that
“The Army cannot investigate itself; there should be a high-powered, independent committee headed by a retired CJN (Chief Justice of Nigeria) and in there, there should be a service chief.”
He expressed concern that foreign nations might hesitate to supply arms to the Nigerian military “when they witness these weapons being used against our own citizens.”
The confusion surrounding the incident persisted, with the Nigerian Air Force initially denying responsibility. However, the Kaduna State Government later revealed that the Army had taken responsibility, citing the presence of terrorists among civilians as a contributing factor.
This accidental airstrike adds to a series of controversies surrounding Nigeria’s use of airstrikes in combating bandits and terrorists, with previous incidents leading to civilian and military casualties.
