The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday gave a gory account of the ‘setback’ suffered during a mission in Niger State.
A rescue helicopter crashed in the process.
Bandits linked to notorious terrorist Dogo Gide claimed to have shot down the chopper with AK47 riffles.
But a former Chief of Training and Operations at the NAF headquarters, Air Vice Marshall (AVM) Gbolahan Adekunle debunked such claim, saying an AK47 cannot shoot down a military helicopter.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, said: “Our troops entered into an ambush in the general area of Shiroro Local Government area of Niger State. The ambush led to a firefight which resulted in the death of three officers, and 22 soldiers while seven were wounded in action.
“As a result of this, there was a need for us to embark on a casualty evacuation whereby the Nigerian Air Force helicopter was dispatched. While that process was on and airborne to Kaduna the helicopter crashed.
“It crashed with 14 of the previously killed-in-action personnel in that ambush, seven of the previous wounded-in-action personnel in the ambush, two pilots of the helicopter and two crew members.”
Gen. Buba said despite the setbacks experienced at the frontline in Niger State, troops remained committed and resolute in defeating the adversaries.
“One thing is for sure no group will strike our own troops without injurious consequences.”
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Taoreed Lagbaja had on Tuesday directed immediate reinforcement of troops with additional equipment in Niger State.
On military operations across the country, the Defence spokesperson said troops killed 28 terrorists and arrested 92 in several operations in the past two weeks.
Gen. Buba added that troops also arrested six terrorists collaborators, six gunrunners, three kidnappers, six collaborators and seven perpetrators of oil theft.
They also rescued 82 kidnap victims and recovered 108 weapons and 564 ammunition.
He added that troops in the Niger Delta destroyed 33 illegal refining sites and recovered 1,166,900 litres of stolen crude, 1,491,250 litres of illegally refined diesel, 54,750 litres of kerosene and 800 litres of petrol
The Defence spokesperson said they also discovered and destroyed 36 dugout pits, 62 wooden boats, 73 storage tanks, one vehicle and 75 ovens, four pump machine guns and five outboard engines.
“The ongoing operations are a message to those that question the resolve of the military. It is also a message to members of these violent extremist groups that think they can hide.
They can rest assured that others shall raise their sons and daughters, as no one will strike at the military without injurious consequences,” Buba said.
Retired Air Force chief Adekunle described as “far-fetched,” the claim by bandits that they short the NAF plane with AK-47.
Adekunle, in an interview with a national television station, reasoned that the bandits were taking advantage of the situation to instill fear in Nigerians.
He said: “To say that an AK-47 brought down that helicopter seems a little far-fetched. I think they just happened to have stumbled on a situation and they’re just trying to capitalise on it. That’s my humble opinion on this issue.”
“A lot of things could have been responsible for the aircraft going down. It could have been due to the weather.”
