The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the last general elections, Mr Peter Obi, has described the problem of insecurity in the country as regrettable, noting that its persistence has now cost Nigeria collateral damage.
Obi who was reacting to the military airstrike that killed many villagers in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna State, highlighted the unintended human cost of insecurity.
His reaction is contained in a statement on his X handle, released on Tuesday.
The former Anambra State governor urged the military to exercise utmost caution and professionalism to avoid such kind of embarrassment to both the military and the country.
According to him, “any incident that leads to harm or loss of lives of the innocent people they are meant to protect should be avoided”.
While commiserating with families that lost their loved ones, Obi prayed God to grant the dead eternal rest and quick healing to the injured.
“I read with sadness, the devastating reports of the accidental bombing of Tudun Biri Village in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, by a Nigerian Army craft that mistook the villagers for terrorists.
“The lethal incident left death tolls reported to have risen to 80 persons, with several others injured. While our military continues to fight impressively against insecurity in many parts of the country, they must exercise utmost caution and professionalism to avoid this kind of embarrassment to both the military and the country. Any incident that leads to harm or loss of lives of the innocent people they are meant to protect should be avoided.
“Even though the mishap is one too many, the security agencies should work with reliable human intelligence reports on ground before any offensive attack to avoid innocent casualties as has been reported in this case,” Obi said.
”Fatal mistakes like this leave indelible trauma on the families who have lost their loved ones to this ugly and unfortunate mishap. I sincerely commiserate with families that lost their loved ones. And to the dead, I pray God Almighty to forgive their sins and grant them eternal rest, and quick healing to the injured. We pray that such a mistake leading to a sorrowful outcome, as this, never happens again in our country.
”It is regrettable that the problem of insecurity in our nation has persisted for so long that we are now paying such unintended human costs as collateral damage.
