By Miracle Ogunde
The federal government through the Minister of State, Defence, Bello Matawalle, has given an indication that it would probe the recent military airstrikes which left some villagers dead in Sokoto communities.
The minister described what happened in the two villages as very unfortunate and assured that a thorough probe would unravel what really happened.
According to a statement on Friday by the Press Secretary to Sokoto State Governor, Ahmad Aliyu, Matawwale gave the assurance while on a condolence visit to Governor Ahmed Aliyu in Sokoto, expressing optimism that justice would be done on the matter.
“Mr President is worried by the unfortunate incident and he asked me to come and condole you over what happened,” Matawalle said.
He also added that at times the military airstrikes hit the wrong locations due to the wrong information they may have been given while carrying out operations.
The minister said that security reports had confirmed that the area where the incident happened was being dominated by the Lakurawa bandits.
In his response, Gov. Aliyu called on the military to improve their information gathering and surveillance to avoid hitting the wrong targets.
He commended the military and other security agencies for their commitment in making the state safe.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) blamed what it described as a “secondary explosion” for the death of “about ten persons” following strikes in Sokoto.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said the deaths and injuries were due to “secondary explosions” and not a direct result of the strikes.
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