General Christopher Musa reacts after Arewa group accuse him of being behind Kaduna Bombing

By Musa Mohammed

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, last night, apologised for the bombing of civilians at Tundun Biri, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on Sunday. Musa said the army acted on intelligence, but missed, and described the incident as highly regrettable.

Speaking on Arise Television, the defence chief noted that going forward, the military would fine-tune its operations and ensure that such incidents do not reoccur.

In a similar vein, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), yesterday, explained that the targets hit by the military drone in the Kaduna bombing were acquired by air surveillance and subsequently eliminated, presuming that terrorists, who were in the habit of using civilians as shield, were operating at the time.

The DHQ regretted the civilian casualties and claimed it always did its best to distinguish between civilians and terrorists. It said the suspicious movement of the allegedly celebrating crowd, had posed a major threat in an area notorious for terrorist activities, thus propelling the drone attack.

Musa, while responding to a question on why it was the army that carried out the operation rather than the air force, which had the training, noted that all the segments of the armed forces had a smaller version of the sister security agencies within their ranks.

The CDS explained that the pattern of movement of the civilians, who were affected, looked almost like that of the terrorists, who had been operating heavily around the area, causing the army to engage them.

Musa refuted insinuations that it was lack of synergy among the armed forces that probably caused the incident. He explained that the cordial relationship between the heads of the forces had never been better.

He stated, “The army has air operation. We have the army aviation, the air force has its own, and the drones are also enablers that we use for modern warfare. The pilots are well-trained and well prepared for the operations.

“I just want to remind individuals that it is a war we’re fighting and, therefore, we make mistakes. As human beings, we all make mistakes and this is just one of them. It was not deliberate.

“They went on after receiving an information of a threat of attack within the general area and they saw the traits of individuals moving similar to the way the terrorists also move, and then they went to congregate under a tree, just the way terrorists do.

“And I think from there, they felt it was time for them to act and then they reacted. It was based on intelligence, but I think they just missed it. And now we just want to convey to Nigerians to understand that mistakes are human and it is highly regrettable.

“We will make amends and ensure we look back and see where these mistakes came from, and then to be able to make sure that we get rid of them properly and to avoid such mistakes.”

Musa noted that it was the duty of the military to protect civilians, not to harm them, especially Nigerian citizens, describing the incident as “highly unfortunate.”

He added that the allegation of partiality against him in some quarters was unfortunate, stressing that the area comprised a mix of more than one tribe and one religion.

“We’re trying to make sure that we’re putting up our best to ensure that we defeat the terrorists and mistakes do happen. It has nothing to do with tribe, religion or ethnicity,” Musa said.

From DHQ, a statement by Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba, said on December 3 about 2200hrs, and based on untoward activities by terrorists, the Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detachment observed movement of terrorists at Ligarma, a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State.

The statement said, “Aerial surveillance captured movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorists tactics and modus operandi. The observed advance of the terrorists that were gathered posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach of the untoward activities. Accordingly, the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorists from unleashing terror on innocent civilians.

“It should be noted that terrorist often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres in order for the civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities. Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorists.

“The military views every civilian death in the cause of operations as a tragedy. Such tragedies are needless and unwanted, that cause the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them.

“One of such measures taken by the military is to continually give precise instructions to communities. For instance, communities are to always alert troops of their activities, particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorists and their sympathisers. These instructions are intended at enabling the military distinguish between friendly and untoward activities.”

The defence headquarters affirmed that the armed forces would continue to operate consistent with international law, as it had always done, and will also continue its determined and cautious progress in eradicating terrorists from the country.

It said, “These terrorist, as part of their tactics, disguise as civilians to perpetrate terror. Accordingly, we will continue to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced in the conduct of operations.”