Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the accidental bombing by the Nigerian Military on December 25, which reportedly killed 10 people and injured six others in the villages of Rumtuwa and Gidan Sama in the Silame local government area.
The villages, located near the Surame desert, a known hideout for the newly emerging Lakurawa terror group, suffered significant losses in the attack. An estimated 100 animals, including camels, cows, and donkeys, were killed in the attack.
Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), took to social media platform X to react to the attack. He described the airstrike as “an outrage that must be condemned in the strongest terms.”
Atiku questioned the lessons learned from past tragedies, citing the December 3, 2023, airstrike on a religious gathering at Tudun Biri, near Kaduna, which he said claimed tens of innocent lives. He stressed the need for precision and irrefutable intelligence in targeting terrorists, stating that “the indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens… can never be justified.”
The former Vice President appealed for an end to the “tragic cycle of death” and urged the government to learn from past mistakes. He extended his condolences to the grieving families and the people of Sokoto, saying, “May the souls of the departed rest in eternal peace.”
His words: The devastating airstrike that claimed the lives of nearly a dozen innocent civilians and left many others wounded in the peaceful communities of Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa in Sokoto State is an outrage that must be condemned in the strongest terms.
But this tragedy begs the question: What have we truly learnt from the heart-wrenching losses of the past? On December 3, 2023, tens of innocent lives were lost in a brutal airstrike on a religious gathering at Tudun Biri, near Kaduna. How many more lives must be lost before we take action?
While targeting terrorists is a legitimate goal, these strikes must be carried out with unmatched precision and based on irrefutable intelligence. The indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens — our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors— can never be justified. It is not only a failure but a gross violation of humanity itself.
When those who are meant to be our partners in the fight against terrorism are instead treated as targets, we are sowing the seeds of further division and anger. We cannot expect them to see a difference between those who protect them and those who harm them when they are caught in the crossfire.
We must stop this tragic cycle of death. The only way forward is to learn from the past, to make sure that every life is valued, and to ensure no more families have to mourn the loss of loved ones to senseless violence.
To the grieving families and the people of Sokoto, my heart goes out to you. May the souls of the departed rest in eternal peace. Amin. -AA