Two soldiers from Nigeria will go to court for killing 85 people in a drone attack last December. The attack happened in the conflict-ridden north of Nigeria. A rights group is asking for more information and justice for the victims.
Two people will face military justice for making mistakes that led to civilians being killed. They thought the civilians were terrorists. The Defense Headquarters spokesperson did not give more information.
The Nigerian military frequently uses air strikes to fight against violent extremists and rebel attacks in the northern part of Nigeria. This has caused harm to innocent people for over ten years.
Since 2017, the military has accidentally killed about 400 civilians, according to a security firm in Lagos.
In December, there was a problem with a gun while people were celebrating a Muslim holiday in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna state.
The Nigerian military needs to give more details about their investigation, pay the victims, and create better ways to prevent accidents from happening again, according to Anietie Ewang, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.
Ewang said we really need a careful plan to make sure the victims of the airstrikes get fairness and justice.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said that mistakes that could have been prevented cannot happen again. Rights groups and activists also criticized the attack and asked for more careful monitoring of the military’s actions in war areas.
One big worry is that there are too many drones in Nigerian security groups and there are no clear rules on when they can be used. This was said by Kabir Adamu, a security expert in Abuja.
Buba said that the military will be more careful in the future to make sure that people who are not fighting in wars are safe.