December 01, (THEWILL) – For the third time in three years, the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has mistakenly killed civilians in the ongoing war against terrorism in the country. Communities in Nasarawa, Kaduna and Katsina states appear to bear the brunt of this error in the prosecution of the anti-terrorism fight.
The latest victims are the residents of Shuwa Village, Ruwan Godiya District in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
According to reports, an NAF airstrike on Thursday, November 21, 2024 left some civilians killed and others injured during military operations targeting terrorists.
The strike, which occurred early on that Thursday morning, was reportedly targeted at neutralising bandits terrorising the region. However, local sources claimed that the operation mistakenly hit civilians.
Shawu Village has reportedly become a hotbed for kidnapping and banditry, further complicating military operations in the region.
Reacting to the incident, however, Katsina State Commissioner for Internal Security, Dr Nasiru Mu’azu, debunked eye-witness accounts from local sources and refuted claims of accidental bombing.
Mu’azu emphasised that the operation was a precision strike, targeting known bandit hideouts in the area, adding that Shawu is a stronghold for bandits and criminals.
The view of the Chairman of the LGA, Musa Ado Faskari, though supportive of the Commissioner’s view, however left a window of doubt that confirmed the views of local sources.
He said, “The airstrike was precise because bandits had infiltrated the community. While it is unfortunate that innocent lives were lost, many residents had already fled Shawu due to the overwhelming presence of criminals.” It is unfortunate that the airstrike claimed the lives of the same people that the Nigerian Air Force sought to protect. Could these innocent citizens have been saved if thoroughness, which is a key factor in targeting objects, was observed?
Last year similar incidents happened in Nasarawa and Kaduna States.
In January 2023, dozens of Nigerian citizens, mainly herders, died in an aerial bombing incident in a central part of Nasarawa as they unloaded cattle retrieved from security agencies in a neighbouring state. After much initial denial, the NAF in January 2024, a year later, admitted the error and publicly announced that it regretted the tragic incident.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar, noted that the unfortunate incident was not deliberate but the NAF had targeted suspected terrorists and cattle rustlers in view of the heightened level of insecurity in the area at the time.
In a similar incident, towards the end of 2023, civilians were killed in Kaduna State, following a military drone attack targeting insurgents and bandits, according to the Governor Uba Sani, religious leader and witnesses.
According to Sani, Muslims taking part in Eid-el Maulud celebrations in Tudun Biri village “were mistakenly killed and many others injured following a military drone attack targeting terrorists and bandits”.
Although Sani gave no indication of the numbers involved, a religious leader put the figure of the dead at 50 dead and two witnesses said 80 had been killed.
“The General Officer Commanding One Division Nigerian Army, Major VU Okoro, explained that the Nigerian Army was on a routine mission against terrorists but inadvertently affected members of the community,” Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna’s Internal Affairs Commissioner said in a statement after an emergency security. meeting.
Given the tricky terrain that gives cover to terrorists, lack of robust civilian cooperation and possibility of sabotage, it is very likely that such tragedies as had been witnessed in the affected communities in the three states complicates the war against terrorism in the country.
There is, however, no excuse for recurrence. When it keeps recurring, there is cause for concern and the imperative to ask that more diligence should be applied in prosecuting airstrikes in the war against terror. While canvassing for more intelligence on the part of our security agencies, we call for thorough investigation to establish why these tragedies keep recurring. The situation calls for drastic action by the defence authorities.
