The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has expressed deep grief and condolences over the erroneous bombing of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Rann, Borno State, by the Nigeria Air Force, leading to numerous deaths and other casualties.
Ekweremadu did on Wednesday, January 18 through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu.
Ekweremadu, who sympathised with the victims, their relatives and the government and people of Borno State, called for more help from other states of the federation, well-meaning Nigerians, and both local and international humanitarian organisations to mitigate human suffering and fatality occasioned by the sad incident.
He said: “This is shocking and sad. I am pained by the gory pictures emanating from the scene, but I commend the efforts by the authorities and the armed forces to evacuate and treat the wounded. I also appreciate the support of the humanitarian organisations, notably, the Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) towards salvaging the lives of the evacuated despite suffering casualties as well.”
While calling for a thorough investigation of the incident, Ekweremadu urged the men of Operation Dole Lafiya, and the Nigerian armed forces not to be demoralised, but to brace up for the challenge of ridding the nation of every trace of terrorists and insurgents.
“This is no doubt a highly demoralising incident, but I urge the men of Operation Lafiya Dole and the Nigerian military to, nevertheless, brace up for the challenge of flushing out the terrorists and insurgents”, Ekweremadu said.
He called on Nigerians to pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of the dead, quick recovery of the wounded, solace for the bereaved, and more courage and divine guidance for the armed forces.