A group of armed terrorists, reportedly affiliated with Abubakar Abdallah, also known as Dogo Gide, have asserted their responsibility for the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter crash that occurred on Monday, August 14, in Chukuba village, situated in the Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State.
A terrorist individual, speaking off-camera in a video obtained by WikkiTimes and reviewed by The ICIR, asserted that an AK-47 was employed to bring down the helicopter. This version contradicts the initial statement released by the Nigerian Air Force regarding the incident.
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The NAF spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, stated on August 14 that the aircraft had taken off from Zungeru Primary School en route to Kaduna but had later crashed near Chukuba Village in Shiroro LGA, Niger State.
Efforts were made by The ICIR to contact Gabkwet for further information about the incident and the casualties involved; however, calls were not answered, and an SMS message sent to his mobile phone received no response.
Likewise, a WikkiTimes article published on Monday featured a statement from Sani Yusuf Kokki, the Convener of Concerned Shiroro Youths of Niger State, attributing the downing of the aircraft to the Dogo Gide-led faction of bandits. Kokki claimed that the terrorists had “gunned down a surveillance jet hovering around the airspace of some Niger Communities…”
A voice from behind the camera in the aforementioned video, which displayed distressing scenes of deceased soldiers, asserted that their group possessed weaponry similar to that of the Nigerian army.
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In Hausa, the voice explained, “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.”
The voice continued, “… we have no business with anyone except those who stood up to attack us. 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.”
Describing the recent attack, it was reported that bandits had unleashed chaos on Chukuba and neighboring villages in the Shiroro LGA of Niger State starting from Friday, August 11.
This three-day attack led to significant casualties, including the loss of soldiers and local security personnel (vigilantes) who confronted the terrorists.
The terrorists reportedly ambushed and killed an unspecified number of soldiers along the Zungeru-Tegina road in the Madaka Ward of the Rafi Local Government Area in Niger State. In response, the soldiers purportedly neutralized numerous terrorists and reclaimed stolen resources.
