Sokoto State Governor Ahmad Aliyu has urged victims of the Nigerian military’s accidental bombing on December 25 to accept the tragedy as part of their fate.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the military airstrike reportedly killed 10 people and injured six others in the villages of Rumtuwa and Gidan Sama in the Silame local government area.
The villages are located near the Surame desert, a known hideout for the newly emerging Lakurawa terror group.
In addition to the human fatalities, an estimated 100 animals, including camels, cows, and donkeys, perished in the attack.
Governor Aliyu attended the victims’ burial and reassured the community that the bombing was a mistake.
He emphasized the importance of accepting destiny, whether good or bad, as Muslims.
“Have you heard the news that some people have entered this country, and this isn’t the first time the soldiers have attacked them? They attacked the first time, the second time, and the third time, and each time, they were successful. So, this is considered destiny, and as Muslims, it’s good for us to accept destiny, whether it’s good or bad,” BBC quoted the governor as saying in Hausa.
The governor also pledged to work with the relevant authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident and to prevent such attacks from happening again.
He said, “We will work with all relevant authorities to ensure that an investigation is carried out to determine the cause of the incident and to consider the appropriate course of action to prevent it from happening again.”
The governor provided aid to the affected community, including 100 bags of food and approximately 20 million naira.
Sharing details of the strike, Silame local government chairman Abubakar Muhammad confirmed that both air and ground forces participated in the attack, describing it as a relentless attack that did not cease until the state government intervened.
“The air force entered the area with heavy tanks,” he said. “They called me this morning and told me bombs had dropped, and I investigated and confirmed that it had happened.”
Meanwhile, the presidency has denied reports that fighter jets mistakenly bombed communities in Sokoto State.
The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, made the denial in a post via his X account late on Wednesday night.
According to Olusegun, “Kindly disregard any news about fighter jets mistakenly bombing communities in Sokoto. It’s all fake!”
The military has also denied bombing villagers, insisting that its targets were aimed at a group associated with the Lakurawa terror sect.
