The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has attributed the deaths of “about ten persons” in Sokoto to what it referred to as a “secondary explosion” following military strikes.
Recently, the Sokoto state government reported that ten villagers were killed and several others injured after military strikes in the Silame Local Government Area.
However, Major General Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, clarified that the fatalities and injuries were caused by “explosions,” rather than being a direct result of the strikes.
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“Now, I spoke about secondary explosions. Because one of the targets was a logistic base of the terrorists in the community. When I talk of a logistics base, I’m talking of armed caches and poles that were kept there,” he said during a briefing at the DHQ in Abuja on Friday.
“So, naturally, when the munition hits, there will be a secondary explosion arising from that which will generate other things flying in the air which was what led to the death of about 10 persons that were reported. The 10 persons reported were not hit directly by the air strikes.
“The people who were hit directly by the air strikes were the Lakurawa terrorist groups, and they were burned beyond recognition.”
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According to Buba, the military confirmed that the strikes hit the target – the terrorist group.
“To make sure that those that we saw at that location were indeed terrorists – the Lakurawa terrorist group. And we did that by sending human intelligence to confirm and they got back to us and confirmed and it was thereafter that we carried out – a joint operation, a combined synchronized operation with the Air Force and ground forces,” he said.
“Air Force carried out precision strikes using precision munitions. After the strikes, the land component on the ground moved on the site, and what did they confirm? They confirmed that ‘Yes, the strikes hit the objective.’ That is that.”
However, Buba did not verify the number of casualties from the strikes, which have continued to spark discussions among Nigerians.
The individuals killed in the airstrikes have since been buried in accordance with Islamic rites.
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