The Federal Government has announced its commitment to conducting a comprehensive investigation into the accidental bombing in Gidan Bisa and Runtuwa villages of Silame Local Government Area, Sokoto State, which resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people.
This assurance was conveyed in a statement on Friday by Ahmad Aliyu, Press Secretary to the Sokoto State Governor, following a condolence visit by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle. The minister described the incident as tragic and pledged that a thorough probe would uncover the circumstances surrounding the event.
Matawalle extended President Bola Tinubu’s condolences to the affected communities, emphasizing the administration’s concern over the incident. He acknowledged that errors in airstrike operations sometimes occur due to inaccurate intelligence and revealed that security reports indicated the area was dominated by the Lakurawa bandit group.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday morning, involved a military fighter jet mistakenly targeting the communities. The Defence Headquarters later attributed the casualties to secondary explosions caused by terrorist logistics in the vicinity, not direct strikes. Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, explained that the explosions were triggered by munitions hitting armed caches in the targeted locations.
Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyu, while commending the military and security agencies for their efforts in combating insecurity, urged them to improve intelligence gathering and surveillance to prevent similar tragedies. He expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his swift response and concern over the accidental bombing.
The Defence Headquarters clarified that the airstrike had successfully neutralized members of the Lakurawa terrorist group but resulted in secondary explosions that caused unintended casualties. Buba reiterated that the military remains committed to precision in its operations to avoid collateral damage.
This incident has renewed calls for better intelligence-sharing and operational planning to prevent civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations.
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