The pan-northern socio-political organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, on Thursday, called for the removal of the General Officer Commanding One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major-General V.U. Okoro, over the erroneous bombing of innocent persons at Tudun Biri in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday night.
The death toll from the air strike aimed at terrorists has reached 127 with several left injured.
The ACF’s demand is contained in a statement its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad released where it also called for the removal of some army officers in Kaduna to ensure thorough investigations among others.
It said, “The General Officer Commanding of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, along with his immediate subordinate officers should be redeployed to allow for unfettered investigations.
“As a trite principle of justice, One Division of the Nigerian Army must not and should not be allowed to investigate itself. An independent panel of investigators is clearly indicated. Further, the results of the investigations must be made public, issues that border on national security considerations excepted.
“The defence headquarters should retract its needless statement. The Ministry of Defence, and the Armed Forces in particular, should take steps to ensure that such incidents are avoided or contained to the barest minimum humanly possible.
“The Federal Government must take responsibility for full compensation to all victims of Tudun Biri. The gesture should also be extended to victims from all previous such incidents.”
