THE United Kingdom (UK) government, has called on military authorities to undertake a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the accidental bombing of an internally-displaced persons’ camp in Borno State so as to prevent a recurrence.
It said the UK’s government was absolutely certain that the bombing was not deliberate.
Reacting to the incident, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, in a radio interview made available to Tribune Online by the UK High Commission in Abuja said that it was necessary for a thorough investigation to be conducted by the Nigerian Air force or the Nigerian military to determine exactly what happened.
“I do think it was a tragic mistake. I’ve seen some suggestions that it was deliberate; I’m absolutely certain that it was not deliberate. What is important here is in the short term, doing the best for those who have been injured, the families of those who have been bereaved, and I know that the Federal Government and the state government and indeed international NGOs are working very hard to help the wounded to make sure they get proper medical treatment, and to take the necessary actions there. That’s in the short term,” he said.
According to him, “Mistakes can occur, what’s really important is that the right actions are taken to avoid such mistakes happening again. And until that investigation happens, I don’t think it’s appropriate to speculate on what happened or whether people had imagery or whether they knew that these were Boko Haram terrorists or civilians.
“Let’s wait for that investigation, but as I have been doing, let’s make sure that whatever the outcome of that investigation, it means that the necessary processes are followed and amended if necessary, so that something as terrible as this doesn’t happen again.
“Let’s not forget the reason why the Air Force are up there is because of the actions of the Boko Haram terrorists and I strongly condemn the Boko Haram terrorists and what they are doing up there.
“They have disrupted, even destroyed a whole society and that is completely unacceptable. So obviously, the UK is strongly supporting the Federal Government in its efforts to push back and eventually indeed defeat Boko Haram.”