Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Bamalli has appealed to residents of Kaduna to remain calm and shun chaos after over 80 residents were killed and injured by a military airstrike.
Gatekeepers News reports that the airstrike hit the Tudun Biri community in Igabi LGA of the State on Sunday.
The Nigerian Army, while accepting responsibility for the incident, revealed that its troops were on a routine mission against terrorists when the “mistake” occurred.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, said the Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detachment observed the movement of terrorists at Ligarma, an area notorious for being an insurgents’ hideout.
Buba said the threat detected was eliminated but “terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres for the civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities.”
The statement read, “Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorists.
“The military views every civilian death in the cause of operations as a tragedy, as such tragedies are needless and unwanted, which causes the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them.”
The Overseeing Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan also confirmed that the incident inadvertently occurred during a routine mission against terrorists by the army.
The Emir of Zazzau, while commiserating with the residents on Tuesday, commended the State governor, Uba Sani, for his swift response, but noted that measures should be put in place to forestall a recurrence.
The Spokesperson for the emirate, Abdullahi Kwarbai said despite being outside the state on official engagements at the time of the incident, the emir has been well briefed by the district head of Rigasa and Aruwan.
