Two Nigerian military officers are slated to undergo a court martial following a December drone strike that resulted in the deaths of at least 85 civilians, announced the Defense Headquarters on Thursday.
The airstrike on December 3, deemed one of the nation’s gravest errors, tragically hit a village in northwest Kaduna State during a Muslim festival celebration, causing civilian casualties.
The military, reliant on aerial operations to combat Islamic militants in the northeast and armed kidnapping groups in the northwest, admitted to misinterpreting the gathering of villagers as criminal gangs and extended apologies for the tragic mistake.
“It is hoped that there would be no repeat of strikes on non-combatants in ongoing operations,” it said. “The military will take extra precautions in the future to ensure that non-combatants are safe.”
Defense Headquarters spokesperson Major General Edward Buba said the strike should have never happened.
“The military has conducted a painstaking investigation into the incident and has initiated disciplinary action against those culpable,” he said.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called the mistake “disturbing” and ordered an investigation in December.
The United Nations human rights office said the drone strike was the latest of at least four airstrikes since 2017 that caused significant civilian fatalities. It called on the government to take steps to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
