Probe underway after latest drone attack kill 85 civilians in Nigeria

In what is believed to be the latest military attack on civilians, a military drone attack in northern Kaduna over the weekend claimed the lives of at least 85 people, including women and children. President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria on Tuesday ordered a thorough investigation into the incident. The military of Nigeria, fighting Islamist insurgents in the northeast for a long time with support from the US, UK, and other non-Western allies, has also been carrying out deadly airstrikes in other regions of the nation. Kaduna is one of the northwest and central states dealing with kidnappings for ransom and killings by armed gangs, which security forces have been targeting using aerial assault. Kaduna is located 163 km (101 miles) from the capital Abuja. The National Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday at least 85 people had died during the attack and 66 were injured, giving the first official confirmation of the death toll. Tinubu, who is attending the Cop28 Climate Summit in Dubai, called Sunday night’s incident in the village of Tundun Biri a “bombing mishap,” which was “very unfortunate, disturbing, and painful,” his spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. “The President directs a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident and calls for calm while the authorities look diligently into the mishap,” said Ngelale. Nigerian Defence Headquarters spokesperson Major General Edward Buba said aerial surveillance captured movement of persons “synonymous with terrorists” and “the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorists from unleashing terror on innocent civilians.” “The military views every civilian death in the cause of operations as a tragedy. Such tragedies are needless and unwanted,” Buba added. ‘DEAD NURSING MOTHERS’ Witnesses said villagers were gathered for the annual Maulud Muslim celebrations when they heard a loud blast after 9:00 pm (2000 GMT), forcing people to scatter to safety. When the villagers realised it was a bomb explosion, they started helping those who were injured and moving the dead. But another blast was heard some 30 minutes later, killing more people, the witnesses said. Musa Shehu said he had lost two wives while his youngest daughter was injured and in hospital. “Body parts, mostly children, were littered on building roofs and tree branches. We packed them in empty grain bags and deposited them alongside bodies of the dead that were not seriously mutilated,” Shehu said by phone. Shehu Bala, another survivor, said the villagers, who came from four villages, were still in shock seeking for answers. “We counted 97 bodies, many of them are women and children. Some infants who survived were taken away from their dead nursing mothers. It’s a terrible experience,” Bala said. (with inputs from Reuters)