The Northern caucus of the House of Representatives pledged N350 million on Monday to help the Federal Government restore Tudun Biri, a village in Kaduna State that was accidently bombed by the Nigerian Army last week.
A bomb intended to flush out bandits from Tudun Biri, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, hit the wrong target, killing an estimated 120 innocent people and injuring scores of others.
The Northern House caucus, led by Alhassan Doguwa, said on Monday that it would travel to the area to grieve with families and survivors.
In a statement personally signed by the Kano lawmaker, the group condemned the incident and pledged their readiness to assist the government in bringing life to normalcy in the area.
“The Northern caucus is to provide for various developmental projects ranging from the provision of health care facilities, blocks of classrooms, water boreholes and a community town hall worth N350m to support the Federal Government efforts in rebuilding the community.
“The caucus has announced a monetary donation of Mr Speaker and that of the Northern regional caucus of the Federal House of Representatives amounting to the sum of N45m cash,” the statement read in part.
The lawmakers commended “The charitable commitment of the Nigerian military and other security agencies for their patriotic commitments to combat the upsurge of insurgency, banditry and other criminal activities that plagued some parts of the country”, even as they lamented the continuous violent campaigns by bandits and other criminal elements across the country.
“Against the backdrop of such unshakable recurrent mishaps, the caucus has resolved to pay a condolence visit to commiserate with the government, and the leaders of the Tudun Biri community on Monday, 11th November, 2023 to commiserate with survivors of the unfortunate incident.
“The visit is aimed at securing first-hand insights of what transpired and enabling it to garner useful information to forestall future occurrence.
“The caucus commends the Tinubu-led Federal Government for promptly reaching out to victims and for taking charge of the victims’ welfare.
“The caucus has pledged to follow up with the Federal Government to ensure appropriate compensations for the victims and the community as promised by the Federal Government. The caucus is poised to provide the legal framework for the compensation, and also ensure that the families of those who were killed are adequately captured in the compensation scheme.
“The caucus appeals to the affected community and the leaders to remain calm and law-abiding while thanking the Government and Governor of Kaduna State for keeping to their responsibility of protecting law and order in the state,” the statement further read.