Residents of Tudun Biri in Kaduna State have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seeking a compensation of N33 billion for the recent army airstrikes that resulted in the death of over 100 individuals in the village.
The drone strike, occurring during a Maulud celebration, on Sunday, led to civilian casualties and injuries, prompting President Tinubu to order an investigation into the tragic incident.
The legal action, initiated on December 8 at the Federal High Court in Kaduna by Alhaji Dalhatu Salihu on behalf of Tudun Biri villagers, demands not only financial compensation but also a published apology in three national newspapers.
The suit aims to uphold the survivors’ fundamental rights to life, alleging a violation of constitutional and human rights by the military’s actions.
Among the reliefs sought is “a declaration that the act of striking dead, by way of aerial bombardment of the deceased victims herein while celebrating the Islamic Maulud at their village of Tudun Biri in Igabi Local Government Area on the 3rd day of December 2023 by the personnel under the command and supervision of the 3rd respondent (the Chief of Army Staff) amounts to a violation of the deceased victims’ fundamental rights to life as enshrined in Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Article 10(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification Enforcement) Act (Cap 10) LFN 2010 and hence ultra vires the respondents, illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.”
Ada Peter