By Bello Galadi,
Good day Mr. President. I commiserate with you over the sad incident of Sunday, 3rd December, 2023.
The incident is quite regrettable. My condolences to the families affected by the tragedy, Tudun Biri Community, Igabi Local Government Council, people and Government of Kaduna State and Muslim Community in general. May Allah (SWT) admit them into Aljannat Firdaus and heal the wounded.
Your Excellency sir, Section 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) and Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have recognized the sanctity of human life. As such, no human life should be lost except as permitted under the law.
I hereby, most respectfully, implore you to do the following:
1. You need to ensure the payment of the sum of N229, 548, 000.00 (two hundred and twenty nine million five hundred and forty eight thousand naira only) as ‘Diyya’, (blood money) to the families of each of the departed victim, being the prescribed amount, as at today, under Islamic Law.
2. You need to provide education scholarships for the children of the departed victims.
3. You need to rebuild Tudun Biri Community and provide it with basic infrastructure, such as water, electricity, roads, mobile networks, schools, clinics, etc.
4. You need to defray the medical bills of the wounded and make special packages for their welfare and wellbeing.
5. You need to constitute a high- powered panel of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. The panel should compose of persons of unquestionable and impeccable integrity. The report of the panel should be made public.
6. For the smooth operations of the panel, you need to suspend pending investigation, the Minister of Defence; the State Minister of Defence; the Chief of Defence Staff; the Chief of Army Staff; the Chief of Air Staff; the National Security Adviser; the General Officer Commanding One Division, Nigerian Army as well as the Head of Aviation Unit, Nigerian Army.
7.Anyone indicted by the panel should be punished according to the laws of the land and the rules of the game. The prosecution of the culprits should be carried out in public. Nobody should be spared no matter how highly connected he is. You must not politicize this issue. You must prioritize our safety and security over any political consideration.
8. You need to personally visit the families of the victims at the scene of the incident. The incident is such a special one that requires your personal physical condolence. The visits by some government delegations are not enough.
9. You need to address the nation on the Tudun Biri killings and commiserate with all Nigerians.
- You need to declare national mourning. About 120 people have so far died including women and children with several others receiving treatment at Barau Dikko General Hospital, Kaduna.
- You need to assure Nigerians that this incident will not reoccur in the future. In less than 10 years, this is the 16th incident across Nigeria. This is highly worrisome.
- You need to overhaul your security architecture through trainings and re-trainings as well as provision of modern gadgets. Our security men should be well- armed to confront the terrorists. I personally commend the Army in their fights against the terrorists. However, they need to display high level of professionalism in the discharge of their duties. Anything short of this is a national embrassment. We are doom as a country if our Nigerian Army cannot distinguish between civilians and terrorists at 9 pm.
- You need to ensure that the victims of the tragedy get justice. Justice in terms of adequate compensation and punishing the culprits according to their offences.
On the final notes, I hereby, most humbly, urge the National Assembly; the Nigerian Police Force; the Nigeria Governors Forum; the Nigerian Bar Association; the National Human Rights Commission; the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs; the Kaduna State Government as well as other concerned organizations to launch independent probes into the killings instead of relying on the Federal government’s investigations.
I also urge all Nigerians to be calm and law abiding. They should be peaceful and avoid any form of protest or taking laws into their hands. That will not solve the problem but rather, aggravate it.
As a concerned citizen, I will continue to fight for the cause of the affected victims of the Tudun Biri killings.
Please accept the assurances of my sincere goodwill, Mr. President Sir.
Galadi is a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gusau Branch (covering Zamfara State). He is the President of Bello Galadi Foundation.
He can be reached on:
Muhammadbel_law@yahoo.com and muhammadbellaw80@gmail.com and twitter handle:@bello_galadi1
9th December, 2023
