Parents of children killed in NAF airstrike in Niger were killed by bandits two years ago

The parents of two of the six children that were killed in an airstrike by a Nigerian Air Force jet strike on Wednesday were killed by bandits two years ago, PREMIUM TIMES learned on Thursday.

Residents said the six children were killed when a Nigerian Air Force jet bombed their residence in Kurebe, Shiroro Local Government of the state.

Salis Sabo, the spokesperson of the Coalition of Shiroro Association (COSA), said the incident happened on the morning of Wednesday 13 April, as the children were returning from a motorised borehole in the community where they had gone to fetch water.

“The two other children who lost their lives in the incidents have for long lost their parents. One of them is a daughter of late Malam Isah Kurebe and the other is a daughter of late Malam Adamu Kurebe, who was killed by the terrorists two years ago.

“The innocent child he left over, has now been taken away by a similar fate. This is the second time this type of incident is happening, Mr Sabo said in a statement.

He said a man who lost two of his daughters and two granddaughters in the incident said there were no bandits in the village at the time the aircraft bombed the community.

He added that the camps of the insurgents are well known and wondered why they were not targeted by the air force.

“The insurgents around the community are of two groups, with two different camps. One links up with the community through Unguwan Zomo, the other through Kwantan Yashi area. We don’t know why the why fighter jet would be targeting the community where civilians live,” Mr Sabo said.

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According to the statement, residents of the area whose house was destroyed said they were living at the mercy of the insurgents.

The gunmen enter the community at will, loot their property, and rape their daughters, wives and even their mothers.

They force residents to live in the village (perhaps to use them as human shields against attacks from the military) as anyone who attempts to leave is dealt with.

“While we continue to vent, spleen, raise dust and even bring down the roof when the occasion calls for that, to get the Government do what it has sworn to do. However, the continued pampering of these nefarious vermin who inflict terror straight from the gutter will leave us with so much to be inferred,” Mr Sabo said.

The spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force, Edward Gabkwet, couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.