Nigeria calls for investigation after army drone kills 85 civilians in Kaduna

President Bola Tinubu has called for a detailed investigation into a military drone attack that killed at least 85 civilians in Kaduna State , northern Nigeria, over the weekend.

The strike, which was aimed at extremist terrorists operating in the state, is one of Nigeria’s deadliest military accidents.

Tinubu said the “the bombing mishap” in Tundun Biri village was “very unfortunate, disturbing and painful,” his spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement.

“The president directs a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident and calls for calm while the authorities look diligently into the mishap,” said Ngelale.

The Nigerian Army earlier confirmed that its drone was on a routine mission that “inadvertently affected members of the community.”

Many of the victims were women, children and the elderly who were attending Maolid celebration.

Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has declared that at least 85 people were killed while several others were killed in the attack on Sunday and that the search for survivors was still ongoing.

The aerial bombardments took place in Borno, Yobe, Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Nasarawa and Kaduna states.

The accidental discharge is coming barely a year after a drone of the Nigerian Air Force killed about 38 Fulani herders in the Rukubi community of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Reports say the herders were returning from Markurdi, Benue State capital, where they went to retrieve hundreds of cows seized by the Benue Livestock Guards.