Sokoto govt dismisses military claims, says 10 civilians died in accidental airstrike

The government of Sokoto State said on Wednesday that at least 10 civilians were killed in the military airstrike that was targeted at terrorists in Gidan Bisa village, Silame LGA of the state.

Meanwhile, the military had denied reports of civilian casualties in the bombing. This is amid reports that air strikes conducted by the air component of Operation Hadarin Daji, targeting the Lakurawa terrorist group, had inadvertently killed civilians in the Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities.

However, the joint media coordinator for the operation, Abubakar Abdullahi argued that the strikes targeted locations confirmed to be linked to the insurgents.

Abdullahi said: “All military operations are based on thorough intelligence and reconnaissance missions to ensure precision and protect civilian lives.

“The targets struck in the vicinity of Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa were positively identified as associated with the Lakurawa group, reinforcing the justification for the military action.”

Abubakar Bawa, who is the press secretary to the Sokoto state governor, Ahmed Aliyu, in a statement issued on Wednesday, asserted that the chairman of Silame LGA, Abubakar Rana, said that the incident occurred around 6am on Christmas Day, when two military fighter jets “mistakenly” dropped bombs on the village, causing the death of the victims.

READ ALSO: Military denies civilian deaths in Sokoto airstrikes, insists targets were terrorist associates

Gov. Aliyu, who was accompanied by the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state Aliyu Wamakko, and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi attended the funeral prayers for the victims.

The governor consoled the villagers and described the incident as unfortunate.

He said: “The military jets were on their mission to eliminate criminal armed groups terrorising the state and mistakenly bombed innocent people of this community.

“We consider this a mistake because the same military had on several occasions successfully raided many criminal hideouts in the state.”

Aliyu prayed for Allah’s forgiveness for the deceased and strength for their families.

The Secretary to the State Government, Muhammad Sifawa, however, announced a relief package of N20 million and 100 bags of assorted foodstuffs for the families of the deceased.

Sifawa also assured that the state government would cover the medical bills of the injured.

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