The Nigerian Airforce has refuted claims by Boko Haram terror group that it shot down the missing Alpha jet, which lost contact from the radar about three ago.
The missing jet was said to have been on a reconnaissance mission to provide support for the troops on ground fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast region when the incident happened.
For hours NAF couldn’t say with certainty what happened to the jet and it’s occupants.
The NAF spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, however, in a statement yesterday, said
“Intelligence report gathered by the Nigerian Air Force indicates that the Alpha Jet aircraft (NAF475) that went off the radar with two crew members on board on March 31, 2021, might have crashed. The cause of the crash as well as the whereabouts of the two pilots remain unknown.”
He added that “The pilots are Flight Lieutenant John Abolarinwa and Flight Lieutenant Ebiakpo Chapele. Extensive search and rescue efforts are still ongoing by NAF surveillance aircraft as well as NAF Special Forces and Nigerian Army troops on ground. At this point, the NAF is not ruling out anything regarding the incident. It however remains hopeful that the crew would soon be found and rescued.”
Hours after NAF hinted at the possibility of a fatal crash, Boko Haram terror group claimed response for gunning down the jet in a viral video released yesterday.
The Abubakar Shekau-led faction of the Boko Haram sect released the footage of a crashed jet with one of its fighters standing on the wreckage. A body was also seen in the wreckage of the aircraft.
In the video some members of the terror group was packing what appeared to be possessions of the pilots on board the jet.
The NAF spokesman, however, faulted the Boko Haram’s claims noting that the video was fraught with inconsistencies that established it as fake.
He cited that the lush vegetation in one of the videos suggested it was not in the North-East.
Gabkwet stressed that there was no confirmation of the claims, noting that the clips posted online by the group might be that of a previous incident
He said, “We have seen some videos but there is nothing that has proven that the aircraft in those clips belongs to us, or have you seen a Nigerian Air Force aircraft number or the body of Air Force pilot or have you seen any Air Force uniform? Until we get all these details, we are not going to go into speculation.
“That video could have been shot somewhere. I have seen four videos so far; one of them has lush vegetation in the background, and I wonder where they have such vegetation in the Northeast. Unless they did something and they are releasing the clips bit by bit, we are waiting.
“Except we have evidence, because like I said, these persons have families and you cannot go to their wives, parents or wards, without concrete evidence. There must be something to show”.
