The chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North), Monday called for a probe of an airstrike carried out by operatives of the Nigerian Air force at the Jilli local market in Yobe state on Sunday.
Lawan made the call in a personally signed statement where he mourned victims of the airstrike which reportedly claimed about 100 lives and left many others critically injured.
Lawan in the statement said while he fully appreciates the enormous sacrifices of the armed forces in the ongoing fight against insurgency, and the difficulty of distinguishing combatants from civilians in complex environments, the reported scale of this tragedy demands that we pause and ask hard questions.
He said: “Without prejudice to the integrity of our military, I believe the victims, largely innocent civilians going about their daily livelihoods at a local market, deserve a full, transparent, and independent inquiry. Their families deserve answers and justice.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to His Excellency, Governor Mai Mala Buni, CON, the Yobe state government, the people of Geidam LGA and the entire Yobe state.
“We must never allow the fight against terror to desensitise us to the sanctity of innocent life,” he said.
