TheCable

Ahmed Bamalli, the Emir of Zazzau, has appealed to residents of Kaduna to remain calm and shun chaos after scores were killed and injured from a military air strike.

The air strike hit the Tudun Biri community in Igabi LGA on Sunday.

The Nigerian Army accepted responsibility for the incident and revealed that its troops were on a routine mission against terrorists when the “mistake” occurred.

Edward Buba, director of defence media operations, said the Nigerian army unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detachment observed the movement of terrorists at Ligarma, an area notorious for being an insurgents’ hideout.

He said the threat detected was eliminated but “terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres 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 statement reads.

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

Samuel Aruwan, the overseeing commissioner, ministry of internal security and home affairs, also confirmed that the incident inadvertently occurred during a routine mission against terrorists by the army.

Commiserating with the residents on Tuesday, the emir commended Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna, for his swift response, but said measures should be put in place to forestall a recurrence.

Abdullahi Kwarbai, spokesperson for the emirate, said despite being outside the state on official engagements at the time of the incident, the emir has been well briefed by the district head of Rigasa and Aruwan.