Arewa demands removal of Army Chief over bombing of Kaduna community

The Arewa Consultative Forum has demanded the removal of Major-General V.U. Okoro, General Officer Commanding One Division of the Nigerian Army from his position following the bombing of Tudun Biri in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, in which many innocent Nigerians were killed.

The ACF made the demand on Thursday, coinciding with the Federal Government’s commitment to punish anybody found responsible for the unintentional explosion.

During a religious event at Tudun Biri on Sunday night, many civilians were killed when a drone strike hit a celebrating crowd.

Speaking on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima had promised the government would investigate the bombing during a Thursday visit to the victims at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna.

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However, the ACF, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad, called for the removal of some army officers in Kaduna to ensure thorough investigations.

It said, “The General Officer Commanding of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, along with his immediate subordinate officers should be redeployed to allow for unfettered investigations.

“As a trite principle of justice, One Division of the Nigerian Army must not and should not be allowed to investigate itself. An independent panel of investigators is clearly indicated. Further, the results of the investigations must be made public, issues that border on national security considerations excepted.

“The defence headquarters should retract its needless statement. The Ministry of Defence, and the Armed Forces in particular, should take steps to ensure that such incidents are avoided or contained to the barest minimum humanly possible.

“The Federal Government must take responsibility for full compensation to all victims of Tudun Biri. The gesture should also be extended to victims from all previous such incidents.”

Muhammad further said, “The visit was very appropriate and gave the Federal Government as well as the Nigerian Army a needed human face. The ACF considers the visit a welcome departure from earlier rather insipid response to the incident by officers of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna.

“Although the ACF is not aware of specific words of apology from the Minister of State over the incident, arguably, the visit was in itself an apology enough to the Tudun Biri community.”

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