Abuja — The High Command of the Nigerian Army has vowed to investigate troops of 1 Division over the alleged extrajudicial killings of three armless civilians and massacre of no fewer than 100 cattles at Sabon Birni in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
A statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, assured Nigerians that any personnel found culpable after the investigation will be appropriately sanctioned.
He said: "The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a disturbing news report with gory pictures/video footages published in some mainstream and social media platforms alleging that troops of 1 Division annihilated three persons and some cattle during a recent operation at Sabon Birni in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
"While the Nigerian Army wishes to sympathise with Sabon Birni community and families of the affected persons, we also wish to state that the allegation will be thoroughly investigated and any personnel found culpable will be appropriately sanctioned."
Nwachukwu also stated that the Nigerian Army, which is constitutionally mandated to protect lives and property of the citizenry, cannot tolerate doing otherwise.
He revealed that the Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has directed a thorough investigation into the incident with a view to establishing the immediate and remote causes of the incident and unravelling those behind it.
The Nigerian Army, he said, appealed for calm and assured the general public that the outcome of the investigation will also be made public.
Regrettably, this was not the first time the military was killing innocent civilians in error during operations, especially in Kaduna State.
Last December, Amnesty International (AI), in a statement, raised the alarm over an attempt by the military, particularly the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), to cover up mass killing of civilians.
The international human rights watchdog had, in December 2023, tasked the Nigerian authorities to promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially, transparently and effectively investigate the killing of more than 120 civilians in two military air strikes, in December 2023 instead of engaging in attempts to cover up the crime.
According to the statement, "At around 10pm on 3 December, the Nigerian military launched an air strike on a religious gathering at Tudun Biri - a village near Kaduna northern Nigeria. A second air strike was launched around 30 minutes later, killing dozens, including those who rushed to the scene to rescue victims of the initial strike.
"The Nigerian military has since put out two contradictory explanations. An initial statement by the Nigerian Army in Kaduna said the air strike was a mistake. This was followed by a statement from Nigeria's Defence Headquarters claiming that suspected bandits had embedded with civilians. The victims were buried in two mass graves on 4 December 2023."
The international non-governmental organization said the Nigerian military's recklessness is a result of the authorities' consistent failure to hold them to account for a long list of such atrocities
The Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, said: "The Nigerian military's recklessness is a result of the authorities' consistent failure to hold them to account for a long list of such atrocities. These unlawful killings of civilians cannot be swept under the carpet.
"The President Bola Tinubu administration must promptly set up an independent inquiry into Tudun Biri village air strike and, where these investigations indicate criminal responsibility, ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice in fair trials. Victims and their families must be provided with access to justice and effective remedies."
Amnesty International, he said, discovered that 77 people were buried in one of the two mass graves and over 17 people from nearby village, who attended the religious ceremony, were also buried. Dozens severely injured are currently receiving treatment at Kaduna's main hospital.
"The contradictory explanations offered by the Nigerian military so far show their complete disregard for civilian lives and suggest attempts by the authorities to cover-up these grave human rights violations. Air strikes with deadly consequences for civilians are becoming routine. This is completely unacceptable," Sanusi had said.
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The international organization further recalled that on December 18, 2022 an air strike by the Nigerian Air Force killed 64 people in Mutumji village in Zamfara State.
On January 24, 2023, a military air strike killed more than 40 herders in Doma region of Nasarawa State, while in January 2023, dozens of vigilantes were killed by a military air strike in Galadima Kogo in Niger State, North-central Nigeria.
Amnesty International lamented that the Nigerian military has consistently failed to thoroughly, independently, impartially, transparently and effectively investigate these incidents.
"The Nigerian authorities' persistent failure to hold the military to account is encouraging impunity and increasingly endangering the lives of the civilians the military is supposed to be protecting. The result is that the military is routinely carrying out air strikes that end up killing civilians," the statement further said.
The organization further explained that that particular air strike was the deadliest since the 2017 air strike on Rann village which killed 115 civilians.
