Gumi claims Kaduna bombing not a mistake, targeted at families of ‘some people’

Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, on Thursday, alleged that the bombing on Sunday that claimed over 120 lives in Tudun Biri in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State was carried out on purpose by the Nigerian Army using a drone.

On Sunday night, while the community in the state’s Igabi Local Government area celebrated Maulud, innocent citizens—including women and children—were struck dead, and over sixty others were left injured.

According to the cleric, targeting women, children, and the elderly during a conflict is wrong, but the military chose to act differently since they believed the civilians were terrorists’ relatives.

Speaking at the Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna during his weekly lecture, Sheikh Gumi questioned whether the first bomb thrown on the people was a mistake, as reported, and what about the second explosion, which, according to the villagers, targeted those transporting the remains 30 minutes later.

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He further disclosed that it was God that exposed some of the atrocities committed by the military in the forest, saying he had been calling on the people that innocent villagers were victims of the security bombardments in the forest but nobody listened.

Gumi said, “I kept telling you not to invite people who see war as a solution but people refused to listen. Here it is now. War is never a joke because it affects everybody. I warned you on this but you keep saying they should be killed.

“It’s you that will be killed. That bomb was meant to target the families of some people so as to kill their children and wives. I have been to a village where women and children were massacred in a remote forest.

“Many people have been bombed. Nobody said anything until it came nearer to the city. I have been saying that whatever is between us, whether it is bandits or Boko Haram, there should be peaceful negotiation.”

Since then, the Nigerian Army has acknowledged being accountable for the bombing while claiming that the airstrikes were unintentional and that the operators were aiming their weapons at militants.

Lt. Gen. Taoheed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff, also paid a visit to the location of the disaster to offer his condolences to the district head, clerics, and the family of the victims. He also provided the victims with relief supplies and a N10 million cash award.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has said that anyone found responsible for the bombing of Tudun Biri village, which resulted in the deaths of over 90 inhabitants, will face the appropriate consequences.

Shortly after visiting the victims at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital to offer condolences for the sad event, Vice President Kashim Shettima, acting on behalf of the president, made the statement on Thursday, December 7.

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