Probe Tudun Biri tragedy and honour the victims, NDD tasks Federal Government

• “This is the type of national calamity that should be memorialised. Victims should not be treated as mere statistics. Their names should be published as a mark of honour to them. Besides, the incident should go into Nigeria’s history books as lessons must be learnt from our collective positive and negative experiences as a nation.”

*Photo: A military drone*

The Network for Democracy and Development (NDD), a multi-stakeholder civil society organisation, has commiserated with the people of Kaduna State over the killing of more than 120 Muslims during a recent Maulud festival in Tudun Biri following an accidental bombing of the community by the Nigerian Army.

The Network is distraught by a lack of proper recognition of the gravity of the tragedy by the Federal Government. For instance, there was no directive for flags to be flown at half-mast. Government did not declare an official mourning period in honour of the victims. We did not see top government officials who were participating in the Climate Change Conference in Dubai at the time of the unfortunate incident return home to visit and commiserate with the bereaved community.

While the Network deeply appreciates the difficult work of men and women in uniforms who toil day and night to protect the territorial integrity of the nation and provide security and safety to citizens, we, however, believe that this error is too grave to be taken as a routine act of an imperfect system. This is a clear case of failure of intelligence.

This is the type of national calamity that should be memorialised. Victims should not be treated as mere statistics. Their names should be published as a mark of honour to them. Besides, the incident should go into Nigeria’s history books as lessons must be learnt from our collective positive and negative experiences as a nation.

Against this background, NDD urges the Federal Government through the Ministry of Defence to conduct a transparent probe of the incident. Report of the investigation should be made public.

Besides, Governments of the Federation and Kaduna State should help the Tudun Biri community to rise above the irreparable loss. While substantial compensation should be provided to the bereaved families, comprehensive support should be extended to the survivors and other members of the community.

Lastly, the Ministry of Defence and the security services should take measures to prevent a repeat of the regrettable incident. While the rules of engagement should be reviewed, any act of negligence by officials of the Nigerian Army that could have led to the tragedy should be dealt with within the ambit of the law. Lives of innocent citizens should not be endangered by arms that are meant to provide safety for them.

We pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and quick recovery for the survivors.

God bless Nigeria.

*Ibrahim Momoh*,
_Director of Public Affairs_

*Ibrahim Adogo*,
_Director of Media Relations_

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*Contact*:
ndd.nig@gmail.com

*NDD: PRESS RELEASE*

Lagos; 8th December, 2023

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