•Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has said that he was fully aware of the military airstrike in the state which led to the death of some civilians.
Dauda Lawal stated this during an interview on Channels TV.
Recall that 16 residents including vigilantes were killed by military airstrike in the Tungar Kara community in Maradun Local Government Area.
He said that he personally called for military intervention following an attack in the area by bandits.
However, the governor sympathised with the families of the victims, saying the incident was not intentional.
Lawal said that his administration had set up a delegation to assess the situation.
“We have been battling issues within the last three days as a result of the airstrike. Let me say this, I have full information on what happened that fateful day, because we made the distress call to the Air Force in terms of some bandits attacking communities, and they quickly responded, and they were able to neutralise a lot of bandits.
“But on the second time when we made the same report, unfortunately some of those communities that came to rescue those under attack, and in the process, they were hit by the Air Force, and I believe it was not intentional.
“It was one of those things in this kind of situation. Sometimes there may be collateral damage and that was what happened in less than 3 days.
“I set up a powerful delegation led by my deputy governor for on-the-spot assessment and to commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives. In the process, what happened was fully explained, and they quite understood it was not intentional.”
