The repeated incidents of the Nigerian military mistakenly bombing civilians raise serious concerns about intelligence failures, operational errors, and systemic issues within the armed forces. Some key reasons why these tragic mistakes keep happening include:
- Poor Intelligence and Target Identification – The military often relies on flawed or outdated intelligence, leading to misidentification of civilian gatherings as enemy camps.
- Use of Airstrikes in Guerrilla Warfare – Fighting insurgents like Boko Haram and bandits, who blend into local communities, makes precision targeting difficult.
- Lack of Advanced Surveillance Technology – Limited access to high-tech reconnaissance equipment means that decisions are sometimes made based on assumptions rather than confirmed data.
- Communication Gaps – Coordination between military units and local communities is weak, increasing the risk of bombing unintended targets.
- Impunity and Lack of Accountability – Past incidents have not been thoroughly investigated or punished, allowing mistakes to continue without consequences.
- Over-Reliance on Airstrikes – Instead of using ground intelligence and precision strikes, the military sometimes resorts to indiscriminate bombings to deal with threats.
Until these issues are addressed through better training, improved intelligence gathering, and accountability, such tragedies may continue to occur. What do you think can be done to prevent this?
