The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher and the Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle have visited the victims of Sunday’s accidental bombing in the Igabi area of Kaduna State.
Eighty-five persons were killed and 66 injured in the incident for which the Nigerian Army has claimed responsibility. However, several days following the bombing, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the minister visited the victims at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna.
‘Till We Succeed’
The Deputy Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Shuaibu Musa, welcomed them. Matawalle, dressed in a white agbada and matching cap, along with the Chief of Defence Staff, visited various wards in the hospital to express condolences to the injured.
“We are not going to relent in our actions because these criminals must be defeated by God’s grace,” Matawalle, a former Zamfara governor, told the press after the visit.
“So, we are going to continue fighting the criminals till we succeed in fighting against banditry and other criminality in this country.”
He offered prayers for the souls of the deceased victims and wished a speedy recovery for those injured in the unintentional bombing.
’70 Currently in Admission’
Providing an update on the victims, Dr. Shuaibu stated that 71 individuals were admitted to the hospital, with one fatality reported last night.
“So, we have a total of 71 patients that were brought in. Of these 71, one died last night. So, we have about 70 currently in admission,” the doctor said.
“Most of them, we have stabilized, those that needed blood, we transfused. For those that needed surgery, emergency surgery, we did carry out the emergency surgeries and many of them are now stable and we are about to start discharging some of them that are even stable.
“Some of them with minor degrees of injuries may be discharged to the community.”
He mentioned that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) assured the victims of providing support for their meals and laundry. The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) stated that terrorists had mingled with civilians during the inadvertent air strike.
Survivor Idris Tahiru recounted that the bomb was dropped twice, affecting approximately 90 individuals in the accidental bombing.
President Tinubu has initiated an investigation into the incident, with opposition figures Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar from the Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), respectively, echoing similar sentiments.