*Why bombing on wrong targets continues — Sheikh Gumi
Renowned Muslim Scholar with a large followership in Africa, Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi has directed that Tudun Biri (Monkey Hill) where an Army Unmanned Aerial Vehiice ( UAV) caused severe havoc recently, should be called Tudun Mauludi ( Hill of Mauludi).
Mauludi is a period of celebration by some Muslims in Islam, who celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad,(may peace and blessing of Allah be upon him).
Not all Muslims celebrate Maulud, including the Ahl Sunna wal Jama’a to which Sheilkh Ahmad Gumi was a promient member.
Sheikh Gumi, while commenting on the Kaduna military strikes, has alleged that bombings on wrong targets continued since past culprits were never punished
According to him,” on Sunday, December 3, the Nigerian Army mistook participants in an Islamic procession for terrorists and launched an aerial bomb on them. The strike instantly killed scores and injured many residents of Tudun Biri, a community in the Igabi Local Government area of Kaduna State.”
” Igabi, Giwa, Birni Gwari and Chikun Local Government areas of the state have been identified as hidden spots for the terrorists and bandits who have been terrorising the state for about a decade. Before now, several security officers including soldiers, policemen, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officers and members of the Kaduna State Vigilance Service, and the civilian populace have been killed by these marauding elements.”
He said “I was not surprised about that mistaken assumption bombing at Tudun Biri by the Nigerian Army because it has happened elsewhere before and nobody was sanctioned to serve as a deterrent.”
“For instance, I saw in Niger State, deep in the forest, where a village was levelled, except for three survivors. That joint operation was carried out by the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, and Vigilante. It was not a Fulani community but that of a minority tribe in Niger State.”
“We were invited by those three survivors and when we went there, we saw houses filled with dead bodies. When we inquired about what led to that, they said it was due to their alleged cooperation with the bandits. I wondered if anyone could survive in that place without cooperating with the bandits who are like the government there. A vast land area that was under the control of the bandits.”
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“So, if the Nigerian Army could not fight these bandits man-to-man, except through bombing, what do you want the villagers to do? This happened during the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari. It is important to add that no nation can progress with blood on its hands.”
“What happened just recently has no excuse. The rule of engagements says that even if your target is seen, once there are innocent women and children among them, you should not bomb them because of those women and children because to save an innocent life is more important than killing a criminal”.
“The government must immediately institute a board of investigation not just on the Tudun Biri incident but all the killings of innocent Nigerians. If those who killed these people are found to be prejudiced, they should be brought to book. The government needs to take full responsibility for the genocide that is happening in our rural areas,” he ssid
