FACT CHECK: How true is Peter Obi’s claim that no senior govt official had visited victims of Kaduna error bombing

CLAIM: The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, on a Twitter space last weekend, claimed that no senior official of the incumbent federal government had visited victims of the recent accidental bombing in the Tudun Biri area of Kaduna State.

VERDICT: False!

FULL TEXT:

On Sunday, December 3, scores of civilians were killed in Tudun Biri, in Igabi Local Government area of Kaduna State. The bomb which was launched by the Nigerian army was intended for terrorists, but the victims turned out to be innocent civilians who were gathered for a religious ceremony.

The Nigerian Army claimed responsibility describing it as “an error” and apologized to members of the community and Nigerians in general.

The federal government also condoled with the community and promised that all officers culpable in the ‘error’ would be punished.

While speaking on a Twitter Space he hosted over the weekend, Peter Obi claimed that no senior official of the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government had visited the victims.

He said, “Can you imagine that there is a bomb in Nigeria that killed over 80 people and several others injured and they’re in hospital, they are in hospital that is less than two hours drive from Abuja, and we are celebrating. And nobody has visited those people. No senior member of government had been there.”

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Recall that Obi had visited the injured victims at the BarauDikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna, where he donated N5 million to aid their rehabilitation.

During his visit, Obi noted that such occurrence should be prevented in the future, and called for a thorough investigation into the military operation that led to the bombing.

VERIFICATION

Through keyword searches on Google, Ripples Nigeria found that Obi’s claim that government officials had not visited the victims is false.

Ripples Nigeria reported here that a few days after the incident, the National Security Adviser to the President, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, accompanied by Northern Senators, visited the village where the incident occurred to condole the people and to “make an assessment for the Federal Government.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima also visited the injured victims at the teaching hospital where he promised that “anyone find culpable would be punished”. The Vice President was accompanied by senior government officials.

CONCLUSION

Peter Obi’s claim that no senior official had visited the victims is false.

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