BY: HighCelebritySquard
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed that any person found wanting in the drone bombing that killed over 100 people at Tudun Biri village of Kaduna State will be punished accordingly.
The president, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, shortly after visiting the victims at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital to condole them over the unfortunate incident, also gave assurance that all the victims will be cared for under the FULAKO Initiative which will commence this month.
The FULAKO Initiative is the President’s unique response as a non-kinetic solution to the challenges in the North West.
Shettima said the community will be the first to be rebuilt under the new initiative, adding that the federal government remains committed to the fight against banditry across the region.
“The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent us to commiserate with the people of Kaduna over the tragic incident. The calibre of people that are here with me is a testimony on how deeply touched the president was by the incident.
“The president was deeply touched by what happened. We would like to assure the people and government of Kaduna State that the government will take measures to protect and preserve the interest of our nation.
“The victims will be well taken care of under the FULAKO Initiative which will commence by this month and this community will be the first to be rebuilt in the North West zone.
“All measures will be taken to ensure that future occurrence are averted. Government will go to the root of the issue and anyone found culpable will be punished accordingly,” he said.
According to him, the president is deeply concerned and deeply touched by what happened.
“Like the late Dele Giwa rightly said, ‘you don’t talk about the numbers, one life lost in cold blood is as gruesome as a million lost’. The heart of the president is with the bereaved families.
“The president called me more than 17 times on this matter when he was outside the country. As directed by Mr President, an investigation is being conducted with a view to preventing recurrence of the incident and we expect the report to be submitted very soon,” Shettima stated.
The vice president expressed gratitude to religious and community leaders who served as stabilising forces in this trying moment, adding that some persons tried to make political capital out of the incident but that the community and religious leaders “chose to act in the path of decency, on the path of moderation, on the path of maturity and we cannot but thank them profusely.”
He went on: “Most importantly, the president has approved the commencement of the FULAKO Initiative by next month. Beneficiary states are Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, and for the purpose of equity and justice, we deliberately included Niger and Benue States.
Ex-Defence Chief, Gen. Agwai, Calls For Caution
Meanwhile, a former chief of defence staff, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (retd) has called for caution as Nigerians continue to trade blames over the accidental bombing of innocent civilians in Tudun Biri village.
Speaking at the graduation lecture of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EMIC), 16, National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), Abuja, an education arm of the Department of State Services (DSS), Gen. Agwai said all life matters and he totally condemns the killing of innocent lives in Kaduna.
He said, “However, we should condemn with caution in order not to demoralise the military in operations. We admit that there are mistakes in operations and this is why we call for caution so that the military will not be demoralised.”
Gen Agwai, who is the guest lecturer of the event, also said if the criticism is not properly handled, the military could become afraid of carrying out operations for fear of mistakes and this will not be good for the country in the fight against insecurity.
