Investigations into the airstrike that killed about 85 civilians in Northern Nigeria are ongoing with reports set to be released soon.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja on Tuesday, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa said in the nation’s capital that the findings from the military drone attack in Kaduna state in December will be released by the end of the month.
The army and air force have been called upon to combat the increasing risks that armed criminal gangs that carry out mass kidnappings and raiding villages with bullets pose in the northwest and central regions of Nigeria. In the northeast, the military is also fighting an Islamist insurgency.
“We are here to protect innocent citizens, not to attack them. There was a mistake, and we are addressing such issues,” General Musa said. The reports are completed and will likely be made public by the end of the month. The chief of defense staff acknowledged that there had been some delays and that obtaining the identities of the dead had proven to be challenging.
General Christopher Musa also mentioned that Nigeria aims to produce weapons to counter the growing threat of insecurity because most other nations were unwilling to supply Nigeria with guns because of worries about human rights.
Following a fallout in the ECOWAS, he said, the Niger Republic withdrew its forces from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to protect its borders, the task force is composed of forces from Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad.
These soldiers were part of a regional force that aimed to put an end to the insurgency that had caused millions of displacements and thousands of deaths.
Following the attack and outcry from the public, President Bola Tinubu ordered a thorough investigation following the attack, which had been targeting insurgents and bandits.