Emmanuel Thomas l Thursday, January 19, 2017
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has described as unacceptable the accidental bombing of Rann IDP camp in Kala –Balge Local Government Area of Borno State by the Nigerian Air Force, leading to death of scores of people and over 100 others injured.
In a statement signed by Publicity Secretary of the Party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the party said it is shocked and totally dismayed about the incident and called for a thorough investigation in the incident.
“We are shocked and totally dismayed at the news of the accidental bombing of Rann Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State by the Military leading to the death of over 52 and more than 120 injured persons in the Camp .
“This is totally unacceptable and we demand a thorough and independent investigation into the matter to unravel the mystery behind the Accident”, the party said.
It explained that the excuse by the Nigerian Military that the Camp was mistaken to be a gathering of Boko Haram members is a show of unprofessionalism and lack of intelligence regarding operations of such magnitude.
“We are very worried that the Military after several successes against the Sect in recent times will display such provocative conduct capable of rubbing-off on its past achievements as a professional organization.
“Nigerians will recall our earlier warnings to the Military not to allow itself to be used by the Ruling Party, the APC as a propaganda machine. We had also warned the Military to remain resolute in its duty as a body constituted by law to defend the territorial integrity of the Nigerian State but not an arm of the Ruling Party”, the PDP added, stressing that the military must excuse itself from the Ruling Party’s propaganda and deceit of scoring cheap political points and concentrate more on the job of really wiping off the insurgency in the North-East and to eliminate threat in all regions of the Country.
“We are of the opinion that the Tuesday, January 17, 2017 accidental bombing of the IDP Camp was a reaction to a false alarm and the Military was misled by the informant to cause the killings of those innocent Nigerians. Consequently, Nigerian military must talk less on its modus operandi and also carry out sufficient intelligence gathering in order to avoid such costly mistakes in the future.
“While we appreciate that Nigerians are being informed of the operations of the Military, it is very important to conceal some vital and critical security information to avoid opponents using such information to infiltrate their ranks.
“ We wish to further advise the Military hierarchy to stop playing to the gallery and maintain distance from the APC leaders who are bent on deceiving Nigerians to cover up for their incompetence and none performance”, the party said and condole Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari, the Governor of Borno State, Mr. Kashim Shettima and the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.
“It is unfortunate and regrettable as we pray their souls to rest in peace. We are equally calling on government at all levels to provide the needed support for the injured persons and pray for their speedy recovery”, the party said.
