2 years after airstrike, relatives of Tudun Biri victims speak

Aisha Jibril, a 60-year-old woman lost five children in the Tudun Biri bomb attack in December 2023. Their deaths left her with 12 grandchildren to care for.

Recalling the incident, she said her children, all married, were the ones taking care of her and their children; and since they died in the incident, she has been taking care of the grandchildren with little or no resources.

Despite her loss, she continues to struggle to provide for the grandchildren as she has no one else to rely on, except God. She now works on farms, where she is paid; and she uses the money to raise her grandchildren.

She pleaded with the government to help her with food so that she could feed the orphans.

“The compensation the government promised us will really help if they give it to us. It will enable me to continue feeding the orphans left in my care.

“We are going through a lot of. I work as a labourer on farms to feed them,” she said.

Another mother, Aisha Suleiman, who lost two children on the tragic day, said she had accepted her fate but could not forget the pain she continues to bear.

“I lost my two children on the same day. One was 10 and the other was eight. Both were girls.

“The government promised to ease our pain by paying us some compensation because of the children we lost. They promised to lessen our suffering.

“We are watching and waiting for them to pay us. People who heard what happened to us in the community now think we have money, whereas we do not have anything.

“This compensation might help reduce the pain in our hearts,” she said.

These two women are among those in the community who lost their children, husbands and grandchildren on the day the incident occurred.

Weekend Trust recalled that on December 3, 2023, a military drone accidentally bombed 88 villagers while they were celebrating Maulud at night. The village is a few kilometres away from the Kaduna International Airport.

The incident caused an uproar across the country and the world. The military took responsibility for the killings while the government promised to support the families of the victims financially to reduce their suffering.

It was gathered that not only Tudun Biri villagers were affected during the strike; others from neighbouring villages like Wugara and Ifira, who attended the Maulud celebration that fateful day, were also victims.

Like the two mothers whose children were among the victims, Bello Wugara, a resident of Wugara village who lost his son while his daughter was injured during the attack, narrated, “Truly, nobody who lost a person was given any compensation. What happened was that after people returned from the hospital, some people contributed assistance and anyone who lost someone was given about N2 million.

“Those who were injured were given N200,000. Aside that, nobody was given even N5 for compensation.”

Wugara added that forms were shared among those who lost family members and their bank details and phone numbers collected.

“That is what they did some days ago; and since then until now, we haven’t heard anything again,” he added.

Gov’t fulfilled infrastructure promises — Residents

However, speaking with Weekend Trust, most residents confirmed that the promise by the government to transform Tudun Biri into a modern community through infrastructural development was fulfilled within three years of the tragic incident. The road leading to the community was constructed and houses and a mosque were built. Even the hospital and skills acquisition centre were completed. Solar streetlights were also installed. They noted that what was left was for the houses to be completed and given to beneficiaries.

It was also observed that the Nigerian Army built and handed over a modern primary school to the community about two weeks ago. The newly completed facility consists of two blocks housing seven classrooms, a staff room and head teacher’s office.

The project forms part of the army’s civil-military cooperation initiative designed to support communities and foster lasting development.

Representing the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Waidi Shaibu, the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Maj-Gen Abubakar Wase officially handed over the school to the Kaduna State Government.

He explained that the army was committed to improving access to education, particularly in communities that experienced the tragedy.

Wase urged the Kaduna State Government to deploy qualified teachers and ensure full utilisation of the facility, while encouraging parents in Tudun Biri to enroll their children.

Receiving the project on behalf of the state, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr Sule Shu’aibu, assured that the government would deploy adequate members of staff and resources to make the school functional.

He noted that Governor Uba Sani had directed that the process be fast-tracked so that children could begin learning as soon as possible.

Shu’aibu expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Army for the intervention, describing it as a significant step in healing the community and strengthening security collaboration in the state.

Hashimu Abdullahi lost his wife and four children in a bomb attack two years ago.

Recalling the tragic day, he said his wife was wore the new wrapper he had bought for her, while carrying their eight-month-old baby on her back when they went to attend the Mawlid celebration that night. He notes that ,that night still haunts him till date.

“My four children died together with my wife in that attack. When I heard the sound of the explosion and rushed to the scene with a torchlight, I shone it on the people and spotted the wrapper I bought her during Sallah, which she wore to the Mawlid.

“When I touched her and realised she was no longer alive,but the baby on her back was moving, I quickly untied him from her back and took him to safety.

“Today, the child is alive and healthy, but his mother and my other four siblings are no more, I have accepted my fate, believing this is how God destined it to happen,” he said.

Speaking about how life is for them now, he said they are still living in their old house, continuing their lives as they used to.

“At the moment, we have no fear because there are soldiers in the neighbourhood, and we have been living with them in this town since they were deployed here.” He said.

He further added that most of the villagers whose relatives died in the attack have moved on with their lives while waiting for the government to fulfil all their promises.

Hashimu noted that they have forged on with their lives despite challenges they face as a result of the tragedy that befell them three years ago.

He, however appealed to the government to fulfill the promise they made to provide them with a place to live.

Weekend Trust observed as residents are busy with their farm harvests as most of the women were sighted on the farm harvesting their crops taking the farm produce back home, an indication that residents had re-settled and life had returned in the community.

Soldiers still stationed in the village

Regarding security, it was gathered that since soldiers were deployed to the community, they have not been withdrawn. The soldiers are there day and night. Most residents said there had been no security incident in Tudun Biri since the 2023 incident.

Settle the victims’ compensation — Religious leaders

The chief imam of Ifira town Juma’at mosque, one of the communities whose citizens were affected, pleaded with the government to pay compensation to the victims.

He said the state government under Uba Sani stood firmly and focused its attention on the development of Tudun Biri.

He said, “We call upon those concerned with the issue of compensation to look into it. We know that all the projects and promises that were made are being fulfilled. The promises made about compensation should also be looked into because many of the people need support,” he said.

He further commended the governor for providing farmlands to those whose lands were taken over for construction work within the community.

“If this compensation issue is resolved, I am sure it will help improve the lives of our people and provide them with something that will ease the hardship caused by what happened,” he added.

Similarly, the deputy imam of Tudun Biri Juma’at mosque, Malam Abdullahi Musa, who was one of the organisers of the Maulud celebration three years ago, said the government made several promises, such as road construction and fulfilled them.

“They are also close to the completion of the housing projects they promised, but the houses have not yet been distributed for everyone to receive.

“The soldiers also built what they promised. They have completed it and handed it over to the state government. The last to be fulfilled is the one they still haven’t completed because it involves compensation, which they promised to provide. Honestly, up to now, they haven’t fulfilled it. That is why people are still following up and talking about it.

“My call to the government is this: Since discussions have been going on and it is being said that the military has released the compensation funds to the government, yet it has not taken action on it, I am pleading with them, for God’s sake, to make efforts, just as they have fulfilled previous promises,” he said.

He warned that delaying the compensation could damage the government’s reputation.

He emphasised, “We do not want it to be said that our country cannot handle matters properly. Just as the government fulfilled other promises, we want them to fulfill this one too. Since they made efforts from the beginning, they should also make efforts to complete this matter because many people are watching. We are doing our best to protect the image of the government because we do not want it to be tarnished.”

Senators donated salaries to survivors

Weekend Trust recalls that all the 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria donated their one-month salaries, totaling N109 million, to victims of the drone mishap in Tudun Biri.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin,had announced this at the Kaduna Government House when he led a high-powered delegation of the Senate to the state.

Announcing the donation he said, “This money, God willing, will be transferred to the governor for onward payment to those affected. Let me emphasise again that we are determined to carry out an investigation because this kind of incident is not supposed to happen in this country. So far, we have recorded about 16 of such incidents, so we will investigate to know why it continues to happen. I told you we are here with the chairman, Committee on Army.”

Similarly, last year during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Resettlement Scheme for Persons Impacted by Conflicts (RSPIC) at Tudun Biri,  Governor Uba Sani announced that government had disbursed over N275 million donated by public and private individuals to victims of the Tudun Biri military drone.

The governor further appealed to other individuals and those who made pledges when the incident occurred to redeem them because the president and his vice had redeemed theirs.

The resettlement scheme was flagged off by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who later joined other Muslim faithful for a Juma’at prayer, alongside other top government officials, including the Jigawa State governor, Umar Namadi.”

In his speech, Governor Sani lauded President Bola Tinubu for choosing Tudun Biri as the location for the groundbreaking of the resettlement scheme, saying it is a clear demonstration of his commitment to wiping off the tears of Tudun Biri people and indeed, the poor, vulnerable and underserved in the country.

Due diligence regarding compensation ongoing – Military

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Appolonia Anele, promised to find out reasons for the delay and revert.

Anele, a Lieutenant-Colonel, was yet to revert as promised as at when filing this report.

But the Director, Defence Media Operations, Michael Onoja, while responding to Weekend Trust during a press briefing at Defence Headquarters, Abuja on Thursday, assured that the compensation would be paid.

Onoja, a Major-General, explained that due diligence to determine those affected by the incident who would be compensated, was still ongoing, saying the process takes time.

“The issue of compensation for them has been discussed extensively, and you know that these things take time, definitely we’re doing it.

“But I assure you that in due course, compensation will be paid to that community in as much as due diligence has been done on the level compensation to those who were affected by the incident.

“It will be done. I will convey your message to the appropriate authorities,” the senior military officer told one of our correspondents at the briefing.

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