The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has faulted the position of the Defence headquarters on the bombing of Tudun Biri village in Kaduna state describing their response as unnecessary in view of the quantum of human lives lost.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Secretary General of the forum, Professor Tukur Muhammad Baba and made available to newsmen on Thursday.
According to ACF, “The statement of the Defence Headquarters of the Armed Forces, released on 5th December 2023 was totally unnecessary.
“Without necessarily wishing to join issues with Defence Headquarters, but the statement, as credited to the Director of Defence Media Operations, left much to be desired in its choice of words and even outrightly contemptuous.
“It was especially painful viewed, as it must be, against the human costs of the tragedy. The wounds of the injured were and are still fresh and many of the dead unburied at the time of the statement.
For these reasons, authorities should not minimise or downplay the monumental tragedy that the incident represents. Indeed, ACF considers the Defence Headquarters’ response as proving positive that the disaster was a consequence of an inexcusable and incompetent failure of intelligence.
ACF draws particular attention to four (4) specific issues in the Defence Headquarters’ reaction in reference above, as follows:
(i) that the military could deploy an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) without proper ground assessment was a strategic error because it resulted in deaths and injuries to mostly children who were not even as little as carrying sticks and stones;
(ii) the Defence Headquarters claimed a “threat” was “eliminated” but such threat was tragically a gathering of mostly children as obvious from video clips and photographs now trending on social media, of the before and after the Tudun Biri Massacre;
(iii) the Defence Headquarters asserted that the community ought to have informed the military about its activities, an assertion tantamount to a classic blame-the-victim strategy and typical gaslighting of the victims of the incident.
On the contrary, the usual practice is for communities to be informed about impending military operations.; and
(iv) While it is entirely plausible that terrorists often disguise as civilians and entrench themselves in civilian population, the Tudun Biri gathering was clearly that of innocent civilian citizens, and as obvious from photos of the before-and-after the incident.
“ACF hereby reiterates its earlier stance position (refer to our Press Release of 4th December 2023). While ACF recognizes and unequivocally supports the resolve and sacrifices of the nation’s armed forces to totally exterminate banditry and terrorism in the nation.
“However, the Armed forces should always remember that they must remain accountable for their actions.
“Therefore, ACF is constrained to further recommend that: the General Officer Commanding of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, along with his immediate subordinate officers should be redeployed to allow for unfettered investigations.
“As a trite principle of justice, One Division of the Nigerian Army must not and should not be allowed to investigate itself.
“An independent panel of investigators is clearly indicated. Further, the results of the investigations must be made public, issues that border on national security considerations excepted.
“The Defence Headquarters should retract its needless statement.
“The Ministry of Defence, and the Armed Forces in particular, should take steps to ensure that such incidents are avoided or contained to the barest minimum humanly possible.
“The Federal Government must take responsibility for full compensation to all victims of Tudun Biri. The gesture should also be extended to victims from all previous such incidents.
“Since the Sunday 3rd December 2023, incident of the bombing of the Tudun Biri community in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, two significant events have occurred to warrant a reaction by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).
“However, ACF warmly welcomes the visit of the Minister of State (Defense) along with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and other top Government officials to the Tudun Biri Community, on 6th December 2023, where the delegation also attended the funeral rites of some of the 126 victims of the incident.
“The visit was very appropriate and gave the Federal Government as well as the Nigerian Army a needed human face. ACF considers the visit a welcome departure from earlier rather insipid response to the incident by officers of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna.
“Although ACF is not aware of specific words of apology from the Minister of State over the incident. Arguably, the visit was in itself an apology enough to the Tudun Biri community.
“The COAS had announced a donation of N10 million to the community which ACF considers as grossly inadequate, firmly believing that it is the Federal Government, not the Nigerian Army, that should take responsibility for full compensation for deaths and injuries to victims arising from the incident.”
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