Air Force counter Boko Haram claim of killing abducted Chibok girls, provides video [Watch]

Forum 7 years ago

Air Force counter Boko Haram claim of killing abducted Chibok girls, provides video [Watch]

The Nigerian Air Force says its attention has been drawn to the latest video released online by the Boko Haram Terrorists group alleging the killing of some of the abducted Chibok school girls by Nigerian Air Force fighter jets.
Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, Director of Information, in a statement, stated that the video was not only a ruse but another mischievous effort by the dying sect to draw public attention to itself.

It reads: “Whereas the video showed a cross section of the abducted girls and an airborne aircraft, it provided no evidence that the supposed casualties were as a result of any air to ground attack.

“More so, there is sufficient evidence to believe that the casualties were arranged as the positioning of the bodies clearly defiles any natural setting of a location that has undergone aerial bombardment.

“Besides, the impact and accompanying degree of damage to the bodies would have been more, were they to have died from air strike. It is, therefore, clear that the video is a make-up story to discredit the NAF, and more importantly, a deliberate effort to whip up sentiment among the public in order to dissuade and discontinue the use of airpower which has proved very effective as the major determinant factor in the successes recorded in the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the North East.

“The NAF has put in place a number of measures to avoid the incidence of collateral damage. To this end, considerable effort is committed to undertaking Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, both day and night, to ensure that only legitimate military targets are engaged.

“Besides, NAF ISR platforms carry highly sophisticated equipment on-board which are able to provide pin-point accurate intelligence about target location and description as depicted in the enclosed video on our ISR operations. And where there are doubts about target status, we do not undertake strike missions.”

NAF assured Nigerians, living within the vicinity of its operations of their safety, while restating its commitment to restoration of peace in the North East and other troubled areas in the country.