TheCable

A state government official gave the Nigerian military the wrong location for an airstrike in Nasarawa, PRNigeria is reporting.

On Tuesday, at least 27 people were confirmed dead following an airstrike that hit some herders waiting to transport their cattle from an area that connects Benue to Nasarawa.

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) had said the explosion happened after the herders went to get 1,250 of their cows impounded by the Benue livestock guards.

“This is the third time we have experienced such happenings. In the last two happenings, it was clear that the air force is being involved in strafing livestock between the border of Benue and Nasarawa states within the last one year,” the association  said.

According to PRNigeria, a source said the airstrike was ordered following an intelligence report received by the military high command that insurgents moved into some communities around the boundary between Nasarawa and Benue states.

A joint team involving the military and other security components was reportedly mobilised to take out the attackers.

But “a particular state government official” was said to have given the team a wrong location, leading to the Nasarawa incident.

“The herders were killed while returning from Makurdi, the Benue state capital, where they went to retrieve over 1,000 cows seized by the Benue livestock guards,” the source said.

The source added that it was the domestic intelligence operatives in the state, who quickly alerted the military that the operation has taken place at the wrong location.