The residents of Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities in the Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto State where military airstrikes killed at least 10 people on Christmas day have debunked military claims, urging them to take responsibility for their actions.
Not fewer than 10 people were feared killed and six others sustained various degrees of injuries in a Wednesday early morning military operation that targeted Lakurawa terrorists in the area.
The military allegedly dropped explosives that instantly claimed the lives of over 10 residents and an uncountable number of livestocks and burnt several food silos and houses. However, the Defence Headquarters has claimed that terrorists’ secondary explosives caused the mayhem and not the military airstrike.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba while addressing journalists on Friday explained that the airstrike was precisely targeted at the terrorists’ hideouts in the area. He insisted that the military airstrike must have hit terrorist’s explosives hidden in the area which resulted in the fatalities.
“The airstrike indeed hit the logistics base of the terrorists, which led to secondary explosions. It was these explosions that caused the casualties reported earlier,” Buba stated.
Buba said, “When I talk about the logistics base, I’m referring to hand cartridges and poles that were kept there. So, naturally, when the munition hits, there will be a secondary explosion, leading to other materials being launched into the air, which caused the death of about 10 people who were not hit directly by the airstrikes.”
He claimed that the military operations were carried out based on credible intelligence from several sources and after confirmatory aerial surveillance. Lieutenant-Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi, the coordinator of the Joint Media Coordination Centre of the Operation, also backed up the claim; and insisted that the operation was based on thorough reconnaissance missions.
However, the residents of the affected areas have claimed that they have never had security issues before, not to mention harbouring the terrorists who the military claimed to have traced to the area.
One of the villagers said “We need justice for the people who died. We are not criminals and have never harboured any criminals in our midst. The allegations against us are false, and we want this matter thoroughly investigated.”
Another eyewitness narrated that it was the military strike that caused the havoc and not the terrorist’s secondary explosive as claimed. The villager named Abubakar Silame speaking on the incident said “The attack came to us unexpectedly. It happened early in the morning when some of us were still sleeping.
“We suddenly saw aircraft moving around our communities. We were surprised to see the aircraft, but before we could figure out what was happening, we heard a loud noise, followed by fire.
“Some of us ran for our lives, not even knowing whether we would survive or not, while others were caught in the fire. It was a terrible situation.
“We definitely want justice for our people, and we urge both the federal and state governments to come to our aid. We have lost our homes, our people, our food store, and all our animals.”
Another resident who is also a top government official spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity and said “How can they deny what they did? There was nothing like maybe it hit something or whatever. Our preliminary investigation on the spot confirmed that it was what they threw that caused the killing; they should stop telling lies.”
Reacting, Amnesty International, a global human rights organization on Thursday severely condemned the “reckless outings” of the military that killed over 10 innocent civilians and described the incident as “Another tragic example where Nigeria’s armed forces are found applying deadly military tactics to law enforcement situations.”
The organization revealed that a whole family was wiped out by the military during the incident while they were sleeping in their home and has demanded that “The Nigerian authorities must urgently investigate the decision-making process and execution of the air strikes that caused the civilian casualties in Sokoto state,”
Meanwhile, the military has assured its relentless commitment to conducting a thorough investigation in the area to gather more facts.
