NAF aircraft crash: Terrorists in new video claims to be responsible
By Admin
ARMED terrorists, affiliated to Abubakar Abdallah, popularly known as Dogo Gide, have claimed responsibility for the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter that crasheď on Monday, August 14, at Chukuba village in Shiroro Local Government Area, LGA, of Niger State.
According to a terrorist who spoke behind the camera in a video obtained by WikkiTimes and sighted by The ICIR, the helicopter was taken down by AK-47.
This was, however, contrary to what the Nigerian AirForce disclosed on Monday, August 14, when the incident happened.
“The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School enroute Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State,” the NAF spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, said in a statement.
The ICIR further reached out to Gabkwet to confirm the number of casualties and the details of the incident, but its efforts proved futile as calls were declined, and SMS message sent to his mobile phone elicited no response.
Similarly, a story by WikkiTimes on Monday reported that the Dogo Gide-led bandits faction took down the aircraft, according to a statement signed by the Convener, Concerned Shiroro Youths of Niger State, Sani Yusuf Kokki.
Kokki reportedly said the terrorists “gunned down a surveillance jet hovering around the airspace of some Niger Communities…”
Claiming the incident, a voice behind the camera in the video that showed the horrifying sight of dead soldiers noted that they possessed the same weapons as the Nigerian army.
He said (in Hausa): “God willing, the video we are going to show you, here are the dead bodies of Nigerian soldiers who attacked us to kill us, by God willing, in order to eliminate Dogo Gide… Many of them. Here are many, even their helicopter.”
“… See by God’s will, this is Allah’s doing, with AK-47 we take down this plane. See them as many as they are. So repent and understand that it is not our will to kill anyone; our aim is for everyone to understand and fear Allah.”
“Surely, He will get them, but we are not going to fall back despite hardship, aeroplane or anything. The Dogo Gide you want to kill is alive. See this AK-47 they have, it is the one we hold, and everyone opened fire, and we exchanged fire with them fafau-fafau…And behold the plane was down,” the voice in the video claimed.
The Attack
Bandits have reportedly been causing havoc at Chukuba and other neighbouring villages of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, with the recent incident starting on Friday, August 11.
The attack, which lasted for three days, resulted in numerous casualties, with reports indicating that some soldiers, including local security officers (vigilantes), lost their lives while attempting to confront the terrorists.
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The terrorists were said to have ambushed and killed an unconfirmed number of soldiers along the Zungeru-Tegina road in the Madaka Ward of the Rafi Local Government Area of the state.
Similarly, the soldiers reportedly killed scores of terrorists.
