THE Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has stated that the Federal Government is determined to completely investigate the accidental bombing by the Nigerian Army in Tudun Biri village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and to punish anyone found responsible.
He also promised that the Federal Government would assist the victims of the disaster.
The Vice President visited the victims of the attack at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna State’s capital.
“There is no gain in dwelling too much on this incident that has happened. I am here because the President is deeply concerned; he was deeply touched by what happened.
“Let’s not talk about the numbers, one life lost in cold blood is as gruesome as millions lost in a pogrom. The heart of the President is with the bereaved families. We were at the hospital to sympathise with the victims and be rest assured that the Federal Government stands by the community affected and the government and people of Kaduna State on this unfortunate incident.
“It is already directed by Mr President, an investigation is being conducted with a view to preventing a re-occurrence of the incident and we expect a report to be submitted in the shortest possible time,” Shettima said days after the incident threw the nation into mourning.
The Vice President has paid a visit to the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital to express his condolences and solidarity to the victims and families of the recent Kaduna bombings.
Those killed in the airstrike have been buried.
He further stated that the Federal Government, led by President Bola Tinubu, is determined to eradicating terrorism and banditry throughout the country.
Governor Uba Sani welcomed Shettima upon his arrival in Kaduna State and accompanied him to the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, where he commiserated with the victims.
Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abubakar Badaru, Minister of Defence, and Abdullahi Ganduje, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), were among Shettima’s entourage.
The Vice President’s visit comes four days after a deadly airstrike in the North-Western state killed over 85 people and injured many more.
Local and international watchdogs have uniformly condemned Sunday’s sad tragedy, demanding for investigations and a standardized assessment of procedural actions.
Following the airstrike, there was much confusion, with many blaming the Nigerian Air Force. The agency, on the other hand, was ready to exonerate itself of culpability for the occurrence. Hours later, the Kaduna State government announced that the Nigerian Army had taken responsibility for the unintentional bombing in Nigeria’s North-West region.
The Army has since taken responsibility for the incidence, with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, pleading with the people and committing that such occurrence will not repeat itself.
“My assessment of that unfortunate incident of Sunday, December 3, 2023, is that it is grave, regrettable. We will do everything possible to prevent such an occurrence from happening again in the conduct of our operations going forward,” he said about one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents.
Both the federal and state governments in Kaduna have demanded an investigation into the incident.
The Kaduna state incidence is happening months after another fatal airstrike on Kwatiri, a Nasarawa village which left at least 39 persons were killed and six others injured in the 24 January incident.