Killing the defenseless civilians

On the local scene, the Nigerian military committed an avoidable blunder that should not have happened in the first place.

It happened on Tuesday, January 17, 2017, when a Nigerian Fighter jet dropped some bombs in an Internally Displaced People’s Camp in Kalge Balge Local Government Area of Borno State during a routine mop-up exercise meant to rout some elements of the Boko Haram insurgent sect.

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The disaster proved quite deadly and bloody as hundreds of the refugees and aid workers including doctors from the Medicines Sans Frontiers, workers of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), and other humanitarian workers lost their lives.

Though the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, quickly disclosed that the disaster was a mistake, it has not taken away the fact that the Military could have been more discerning.

There has been loads of conspiracy theories as well as those who have refused to give the army a slack over the incident.

There have been insinuations of sabotage and the infiltration of the Military by some of the insurgents but the army has exonerated itself from such theories.

According to Maj. Gen. Irabor, the army received a report about the gathering of Boko Haram terrorists around the Kala Balge area of Maiduguri and he dispatched his men to the area but unfortunately, the so-called insurgents turned out to be defenseless refugees and other civilians.

In his word, Irabor said:

“When we received the intelligence report, I coordinated and I directed that the air component of the operation should go and address the problem.

Unfortunately, the strike was conducted but it turned out that other civilians were somewhere around the area and they were affected.

So far, it is a little bit disturbing; death has occurred. There are casualties; there were deaths and Some humanitarian staff of Medicines Sans Frontiers and some staff of International Committee of Red Cross(ICRC) were also affected.”

ALSO READ: “Boko Haram: Nigerian Air Force clear terrorists' new hideout [Video]”

In the history of wars and conflicts, there have been collateral damages but the fact that the army did not do its homework properly before sending the team calls for answers.