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• Say ‘we thought it’s terrorists that struck our village’
• Claim death toll likely to hit over 150
• Shari’ah Council warns military, others
Some of the survivors of the Kaduna error bombing by a military drone in Tudun Biri community of Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State last Sunday are still in shock and utter bewilderment. At the time of filing this report at the weekend, they are still enveloped with trauma occasioned by the impact of the bloody incident.
According to the villagers, they had thought it was the terrorists that struck on that fateful Sunday night when the military drone hit their community twice with bombs, disclosing that their domain was vulnerable to the deadly activities of the bandits, who mill around in the area.
The survivors also believe that the death toll is likely to hit 150 as they told Sunday Sun that many of their people are still missing, just as some bodies were being found on tree tops, perhaps catapulted up by the impact of the bomb.
When our Correspondent visited the emergency Ward of Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in the heart of Kaduna city, it was jam-packed as sympathisers trooped in and out to visit the victims admitted in the hospital, many lying critically on beds and others on the bare floor.
Many of the residents who survived the incident are still nursing deep wounds while some others are being treated of facial bruises caused by pellets from the bombing.
Apparently sharing the feelings of pains and anguish, the survivors spoke almost in unison, saying that they witnessed how children, women and men had their brains and intestines gushed out, bodies cut into pieces like meat by the bombs.
They noted that the drone had done a tactical withdrawal, but reappeared to hit the village the second time, killing 82 of the people on the Maulud ground and surrounding houses.
Some of the survivors recounted their ordeals during the bombing.
Asabetu Tudun Biri, 60, a farmer, said: “It is only God that can tell how the incident happened. We were celebrating the Maulud at about 10:00 p.m on Sunday when the incident happened. We were listening to the preachings by the cleric and as the preaching was coming to an end, some us have started going back to our houses when all of a sudden the bomb started dropping into where people gathered. Some of us escaped with injuries, many others died instantly. Some died on motorcycles while they were being rushed to the hospital.
“As it is, we are asking for financial help so that we can get good health. Government should come to our aid. It is the will of God that those who died; about 80 of them should die. Only God knows why it happened. Only God knows why He took away their lives. We still have children who are lying in this hospital with injuries. Some of them may not survive it. There is one woman whose stomach has been pierced by the bomb. Her blood pressure has risen, and she is likely to undergo surgery”.
Also, Suleiman Umar, 60, a farmer said: “I was in the house eating when all of a sudden I heard the sound of the bomb. While other people were outside celebrating the Maulud. People started running helter skelter, and some of us started asking; what is happening? They said it is bomb that exploded from up and dropped on our people. Before we know it, we saw many dead bodies on the ground. I started looking for my children. Five of my children were killed. And myself, I sustained deep injury on my thigh where the bomb hit me.
“Many of my neighbours’ children were killed by the bomb inside their houses. We saw the drone moving to the western side of the village after hitting the community twice. We are appealing to government to help us find the remaining of the dead bodies in the village. We have never witnessed this kind of bombing in our community. But in the time past, bandits have been terrorising the community. We formed vigilante group to ward them off our community.
“So, when the bomb was dropped in the community that night we were confused. Many children were cut into pieces beyond recognition. Nobody could recognise their faces. When I started feeling the pain on my thigh I crawled to the road and slept there till day break from where I was moved to the hospital by neighbours. We separated bodies of women from men when it was daybreak”.
Also recounting the ordeal,Yahaya Abubakar said: “Bandits have chased us from our village and we were taking refuge at Tudun Biri. And Before this latest attack the bandits were not able to attack Tudun Biri. The people fought them fiercely. But now that most of the able-bodied men have been killed by the bomb, the bandits may attack the village again”.
A trader, Jamila Aliyu, said: “I can’t remember how the whole thing happened that day because I did not know how I found myself in the hospital. It is not a palatable story. I can’t say anything more than this. I don’t know my age,” but his colleague trader, Ayina Osaminu, 30, said: “I was sitting down with other people when the incident happened. And when I tried to get up, I fell on other persons in my front. I got up again in search of my children, but I couldn’t find them. I went back to where I fell down earlier, I now discovered this one (pointing at a little girl on the hospital bed) in bruises. I picked her and we ran to the western side of the village. My two children that I have not seen are all males; Muhammadu and Abba. They are seven and five years respectively”.
Another farmer, Sa’Adatu Allahmin, 35, lamented that they had lost up to 82 persons in the village to the bomb, disclosing that his neighbour lost four children to the bombing.
“We are calling on the government to come to our aid. Those that bombed us, we leave them to God to deal with them”.
A student, Umar Majid, 16, seen in the hospital said: “My parents are in the village, but I have not seen them because I was brought to the hospital by neighbours. We were celebrating Maulud when the bomb fell into our village,” with another student, Abba Abubakar, 18, adding that they were “bombed twice from up by the drone. It was then that we realised it was bomb. The drone was moving in the air, it did not come down, but it was dropping the bomb. After killing many of our people, the drone flew away”.
Findings by Sunday Sun revealed that as of Wednesday last week, 120 people were confirmed dead from the military drone bombing.
One of the Imams of the troubled Tudun Biri community, Ahmed Sanusi said that the community had buried 100 persons as of Tuesday, adding that 20 more bodies had been recovered by the search team.
He said that by Wednesday another six bodies were buried just as another one died on Wednesday at Barau Dikko Teaching hospital.
Sunday Sun gathered that the village was once a sort of rendezvous for the bandits from where they go to unleash terror on neighbouring communities, as well as rustling their cattle.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja had visited and commiserated with the families and victims of Tudun Biri and tendered the unreserved apology of the army.
The COAS said that the accidental strike was done by Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) platforms on the trail of bandits.
The District Head of Rigasa, in whose domain the incident occured, Alhaji Aminu Idris, described the drone attack as unfortunate, saying that over 80 people have been buried so far.
He also confirmed the COAS claim that the enclave was infested by bandits, pointing out that the community had suffered banditry attacks in the past.
The District Head of Rigasa also said that contrary to earlier insinuation that Tudun Biri community is solely a Muslim area, Christian faithful also live there and were equally victims of the incident.
In March 2022, some unidentified gunmen had attacked the Kaduna Airport, which is about five kilometers from Tudun Biri.
Meanwhile, JNI, ACF, NEF SCSN have called for full investigations into the ugly incident.
Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), representing the collective voice of the Ummah (Muslim community) across the country, has condemned the error bombing of the Tudun Biri villagers.
The JNI Secretary General, Prof Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, however, said that the Islamic body is committed to pursuing justice and ensuring that such heartbreaking incident does not recur.
He urged everyone to exercise restraint and patience to wait for the outcome of investigations into the matter.
On its part, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) expressed shock and fury over inadvertent killing of villagers in Tudun Biri community.
The National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba called for full investigations into the bloody incident.
The Forum also called for compensation and resettlement of the dead ones and the survivors.
ACF said that the reaction of the Army authorities was an inexcusable, scandalous and plausibly incompetent failure of intelligence by the military.
Northern Elders Forum (NEF) said that it found the “accidental” bombing by the Nigerian military during an operation against bandits in Kaduna village as a matter of serious concern regarding the safety and well-being of civilians in conflict zones.
The Forum demanded a thorough investigation into the incident, adding that beyond compensation for the victims, a thorough investigation is essential to ensure justice for the affected civilians, prevent future occurrences, and uphold the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Spokesperson of NEF, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman said: “Conducting a thorough investigation into the accidental bombing is essential to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. By analyzing the circumstances that led to the tragedy, the investigation can identify any systemic failures, gaps in training, or inadequate protocols that may have contributed to the accident”.
Also, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) in deep pains accused the military authorities of ‘erroneously’ killing civilians like mosquitoes in recent years.
According to the Secretary General of SCSN, Nafi’u Baba Ahmad, “The Nigerian Military, with a straight face, claimed responsibility and, as usual, claimed it was ‘an error’ in operation. But this is one mistake too many, with no evidence of any sanction or accountability. For example, in 2017 a military similar ‘error’ occurred at a refugee camp in Borno State which housed about 43,000 people, where many lives were annihilated and hundreds of casualties recorded.
“Similarly, in June this year, a group of Fulani with their cattle were bombed and perished in Nasarawa State. All these attacks were said to be ‘a mistake’ by the Nigerian security operatives.
“Civilians are being exterminated like mosquitoes. Enough is enough of these grievous ‘mistakes’ in which hundreds of innocent lives are being lost and millions of naira worth of property were destroyed. These incidents raise serious questions on the integrity of the intelligence before actions were taken.
“We, therefore, call on the Nigerian military to, as a matter of urgency, thoroughly investigate what happened and bring the culprits to book. They should also look into the plight of the victims of Tudun Biri bombardment and pay compensation (Diyyah) to the families of those affected. In addition, those behind these series of recurring mistakes must be held accountable”.
