‘Chief Of Army Staff, Others Should Have Resigned Or Sacked For Bombing Kaduna Villagers’ – Yusuf

A public affairs analyst, Prof Usman Yusuf, has demanded the resignation of top military officials following the accidental bombing in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna State, which resulted in 85 deaths and numerous injuries.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Yusuf condemned the military’s actions, stating that an institution meant to protect citizens from external threats is instead causing harm to the people.

Yusuf pointed out that in other countries, such a grave mistake would typically lead to the resignation of military chiefs, as the incident has led to national mourning in Nigeria.

He said, “They will all resign; everybody in the chain of command will be fired. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), everybody will go and the President will cut his trip and return home.”

Recall that President Bola Tinubu appointed new set of service chiefs in June, about three weeks after taking over power.

Stressing his earlier point, the analyst asserted that “All of them should go – the CDS, the Chief of Army Staff, the GOC, the operatives, heads must roll.”

Both the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja visited deceased victims’ families and injured ones in hospitals in Kaduna on Tuesday.

The two service chiefs described the accident as regrettable and apologised to the people of the state, promising them that such accident airstrike won’t recur.

However, Yusuf said, “The Army cannot investigate itself; there should be a high-powered, independent committee headed by a retired CJN (Chief Justice of Nigeria) and in there, there should be a service chief.”

He said foreign countries would be hesitant about selling arms to the Nigerian military “when they are dropping it on our people”.