THE Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said they had commenced investigations into the bombing of a community in Yobe State by an Air Force fighter jet on Wednesday.
This was contained in a statement released on Thursday by the NAF Spokesperson Edward Gabkwet.
According to the statement, an aircraft assigned to monitor suspected terrorist activities around the state on Wednesday morning had fired some shots upon detecting some suspicious movements.
“The aircraft, while operating South of Kanama, observed suspicious movement consistent with Boko Haram terrorist behaviour whenever a jet aircraft is overhead. Accordingly, the pilot fired some probing shots.
“Unfortunately, reports reaching Nigerian Air Force Headquarters alleged that some civilians were erroneously killed while others were injured.” he said.
Gabkwet noted that the area where the incident occurred was popularly known for terrorist activities.
He said an earlier denial of the attack by the Force was due to the fact the aircraft in question was not carrying any bombs, and an inquiry had begun into the circumstances of the attack.
It was reported on Wednesday that NAF fighter jets had released bombs on a village in Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State, leaving many people killed and others injured.
Reacting to the allegations, NAF denied involvement in the killings and released a statement saying that no bomb or missile had been expended.
“This tweet is false in its entirety. The NAF last conducted a mission in Yobe State (not Yunusari LGA) on September 5, 2021, and it was an armed recce. No bomb or missile was even expended,” it read.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.