The Northern Caucus of the House of Representatives, on Monday, pledged the sum of N350m towards the rebuilding of the Kaduna community accidentally bombed last week by the military.
This was as the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of Jama’atu Nasrul Islam, Dr Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, said the council would ensure justice for victims of the bombed Tudun Biri.
The PUNCH reports that military air strikes intended to flush out bandits from Tudun Biri, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, hit the wrong target, killing about 120 people and injuring scores of others.
The Northern House caucus led by Alhassan Doguwa, also announced the group’s intention to visit the area to commiserate with families and survivors of the mishap.
The group condemned the incident and pledged their readiness to assist the government in bringing life to normalcy in the area.
Doguwa’s statement read, “The Northern caucus is to provide for various developmental projects ranging from the provision of health care facilities, blocks of classrooms, water boreholes and a community town hall worth N350m to support the Federal Government efforts in rebuilding the community.
“The caucus has pledged to follow up with the Federal Government to ensure appropriate compensations for the victims and the community as promised by the Federal Government. The caucus is poised to provide the legal framework for the compensation, and also ensure that the families of those who were killed are adequately captured in the compensation scheme.
“The caucus appeals to the affected community and the leaders to remain calm and law-abiding while thanking the government and Governor of Kaduna State for keeping to their responsibility of protecting law and order in the state,” the statement further read.
Also, the Sultan speaking at the annual JNI conference in Minna on Monday, said, “As strong Muslims, we take it as the will of Allah such things happened; we will look at what we can do to those who were affected, and we will follow it up to see that justice is done.
“We are not looking for anybody, but we want justice to be done. As Muslims we all felt sad about what happened,” he said.
The Sultan said the JNI Conference was to discuss events happening across the world affecting Muslims and Islam.
He called on the Federal Government to pay attention to the Minna-Suleja and Minna-Bida roads, which are in deplorable conditions.
In his address at the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, again expressed President Bola Tinubu’s apology and sympathy over the unfortunate incident.
He said that the president had approved the commencement of the FULAKO Initiative, which would facilitate the building of houses, clinics, schools and veterinary hospitals as part of the non-kinetic response to problems of banditry and kidnapping in the North.
He said the FULAKO Initiative was the President’s humanitarian response to the effects of banditry in communities and will be implemented in Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger and Benue.
Governor Umaru Bago of Niger said JNI has remained a beacon of Islamic education and missionary work, contributing significantly to the spiritual and intellectual growth of the society since 1962.
Bago represented by his Deputy, Mr Yakubu Garba, said the state was committed to working with religious leaders to create an environment that promotes peace and understanding.
Earlier, the Etsu Nupe, Dr Yahaya Abubakar, who is also the JNI Chairman in Niger, said the mandate of the body was to spread Islamic knowledge and unite the Muslim faithful.
