Army says Kaduna drone incident that killed 85 civilians is ‘a human mistake’

Gen. Chris Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), has said that last Sunday’s incident where military air strikes killed scores in Tudun Biri community in Kaduna State was a mistake.

Musa said this on Saturday at the graduation of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 45 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos.

The military mistakenly killed over 85 people in drone strikes during a religious festival on Sunday night in Kaduna State.

Following the two airstrikes, about 88 people died while no fewer than 68 others, mostly women and children, sustained various degrees of injuries

The CDS, while commenting on the incident, cautioned Nigerians against using it to demoralise troops focused on tackling all forms of insecurity in the country.

”The incident in Kaduna is, indeed, unfortunate and regrettable; it was a mistake and not a deliberate act.

”The incident wasn’t on purpose; we are meant to protect Nigerians and cannot be seen killing them.

”And so, I want to appeal to Nigerians not to use this incident to demoralise our troops, because we are determined to end all forms of insecurity currently confronting our nation,” Musa said.

The CDS expressed the commitment of the military toward protecting the sanctity of human lives, adding that troops would never attack law abiding citizens.

He further appealed to Nigerians to pray and support the military and other security agencies in their bid to rid the nation of all forms of security challenges.