Nigerians call for probe into deadly military mishaps blamed on poor training, unreliable intelligence

Calls for an investigation into the Nigerian military’s failures are growing louder among ordinary citizens in the West African country following yet another tragic military error that recently resulted in the death of at least 85 civilians.
Many civilians — including children — have lost their lives ever since Nigeria’s security forces embarked on the ongoing campaign against insurgents and bandits in the country’s northern region. But in an increasing number of cases, these deaths have inadvertently occurred at the hands of the military itself. A particularly tragic incident occurred on 4 December in a small village in northwest Kaduna State where an army drone strike killed at least 85 civilians by mistake while the Nigerian military was carrying out aerial patrols in the area. Despite the government’s pledge to punish those responsible for the accidental strike, this incident was only one of at least nine miscalculated airstrikes that have occurred between September 2022 and January 2023.
Therefore, it is hardly surprising that calls have been mounting for an investigation into the military’s repeated deadly mistakes. After President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered an inquiry into the incident, Fityanul Islam of Nigeria, an Islamic faith-based organization of the Sufi movement, has released a statement saying that “all arguments advanced by the army about ‘mistaken identity’ are grossly inadequate, unfair and seemingly insensitive.” The country’s security experts attributed many of the military’s mistakes to a lack of proper training and unreliable intelligence within the military. However, many ordinary Nigerians feel that the military is not serious in trying to tackle its deadly failures. Therefore, when on 6 December, Nigeria’s chief of defense staff said on national television on 6 December that “mistakes do happen,” a crowd of angry protestors rallied in front of the National Assembly in Abuja to demand sanctions against the military.