Rockets accident: FG delegation visits Shettima, Defence Minister orders probe

A Federal Government delegation led by Alhaji Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday visited Borno State to condole with the government and people over the incident of Tuesday.
The Air Force mistakenly deployed rockets at Rann in Kala Balge Local Government Area of the state killing many civilians and wounding others.
Kyari expressed the Federal Government’s regret over the incident when the delegation visited Governor Kashim Shettima in Government House.
He blamed it on the Boko Haram terrorists, who were fond of hiding among the civilian population.
 
Kyari, who noted that the incident was an isolated one, however, called on the military to be cautious in their operations.
He assured that the Federal Government would work together with the Borno government to foot the bills of those injured in the incident.
 
Responding, Shettima noted that wars were replete with friendly fire, adding that they accounted for 20 per cent in war.
 
The governor said that such incidents were as old as mankind and rampant, citing similar incidents in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
 
“We do not justify the incident, but they are common,” he said and thanked the Federal Government for the visit.
 
He restated that the insurgents had been degraded to the extent that they no longer pose threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria.
 
The governor commended the military, saying “nobody attempted to hide anything or sweep anything under the carpet.’’
The delegation includes Ministers of Defence and Information, Mansur Dan-Ali, and Alhaji Lai Mohammed
The rest are; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Meanwhile, Mansur Dan-Ali has ordered a full scale investigation into the accidental bombing.
Dan-Ali gave the directive in Maiduguri on Wednesday while speaking at a condolence visit to the Shehu of Dikwa, Alhaji Muhammad Masta, in his residence.
He said that the objective of the investigation was to prevent future recurrence of the problem.
“As the Honorable Minister of Defence, I have directed the Defence Headquarters to conduct a detailed investigation with a view to making sure that such ugly situation would never happen again in future operations,” Dan-Ali said.
He said that the Military had been directed to offer all necessary emergency assistance to the victims of the unfortunate incident.
“I have authorised the Armed Forces to offer all necessary emergency assistance to the victims of those involved through casualty evacuation and provision of immediate medical care,” he said.
The minister said that the visit was to condole with the government and the people of the state over the incident.
“We are here to condole with the government and people of the state over Tuesday`s unfortunate incident that led to loss of lives and injury to others, as a result of rockets mistakenly dropped by the Nigerian Air Force on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Rann.
“The incident is heart-troubling, highly regrettable and could have been avoided.
‘’However, this incident is an isolated case which happened rarely in a theatre of battle even among more advanced troops in the world.
“I pray to almighty Allah to grant the souls of those who died a perfect peace and also give the bereaved families the fortitude to bear the loss.
‘’I also wish the injured a quick recovery,” Dan-Ali said.
Responding, Masta thanked the delegation for the visit and prayed for recovery of the injured people.