Airstrike ‘Kills Scores’ During Religious Procession In North West Nigeria

Residents of Tudun Biri, in the Igabi local government area of Kaduna state,  North West Nigeria, have raised an alarm over the killing of tens of people in their community by an airstrike. 

The attack happened on Dec. 3 around 10:00 p.m. while the victims were observing Maulud, an Islamic procession. 

“People were observing Maulud when the first bomb dropped. It killed dozens. But when other residents learned, they immediately went to the area to assist them. Again, another bomb dropped on them,” 34-year-old resident, Hashim Jafar, told HumAngle on the phone.

Other villagers were scared, so nobody offered to rescue them because the airplane kept hovering around. They had to leave the rescue effort until morning, they said. 

“There are people we can’t identify right now because we fetched their body parts in a sack,” Jafar said, explaining how dismembered the bodies were. 

Tudun Biri, otherwise known as Tudun Faira, is in Afaka, a few kilometres from the Kaduna Airport. 

Residents who spoke to HumAngle said they do not have an inventory of injured persons yet. 

Jafar said he had been directly affected because he lost a cousin and a sister in the attack. 

“Right now, we have a house that lost 11 people as a result of this unprovoked attack. There is also a man who lost his wife and four daughters. He is now left with only one of their babies,” another resident, Kabiru Lawal, said. 

Preparations are ongoing for the funeral prayer of the victims in accordance with Islamic rites. 

Though residents attribute the airstrike to the Nigerian Airforce, the Force has released a statement saying it has not carried out any air operations in the area in the past 24 hours.