The flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP) during the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, on Tuesday urged the Nigerian military to always try and avoid being an embarrassment to themselves and the country.
Obi said this in a statement on X following the reports of the accidental bombing of Tudun Biri Village in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State by a Nigerian Army craft that mistook the villagers for terrorists.
The tragic and totally devastating incident which occurred on Sunday night during the celebration of Maulud Nabiy left death tolls reported to have risen to 80 persons with several others injured.
“While our military continues to fight impressively against insecurity in many parts of the country, they must exercise utmost caution and professionalism to avoid this kind of embarrassment to both the military and the country,” he said.
“Any incident that leads to harm or loss of lives of the innocent people they are meant to protect should be avoided.”
Obi added that although, the mishap is one too many, the security agencies should work with reliable human intelligence report on ground before launchinh any offensive attack to avoid innocent casualties as it was reported in this case.
He said that fatal mistakes like this leave indelible trauma on the families who have lost their loved ones to this ugly and unfortunate mishap.
The former Governor of Anambra State also commiserated with the families that lost their loved ones and prayed that God will forgive the sins of the dead and grant them eternal rest.
He also prayed for quick healing to the injured and prayed that such a mistake leading to a sorrowful outcome, as this, never happens again in Nigeria.
“It is regrettable that the problem of insecurity in our nation has persisted for so long that we are now paying such unintended human costs as collateral damage,” Obi added.
