THE Nigerian Air Force have launched an investigation into the alleged killing of over 2o soldiers by operatives of the force during an air strike in Maiduguri, Borno State.
NAF said this in a series of tweets released on Monday via the official Twitter handle.
According to the NAF, the visuals and reports being circulated were being investigated and the general public would be duly updated on the alleged incident.
“The attention of @NigAirForce has been drawn to reports alleging ‘How NAF Killed over 20 Nigerian Army Personnel by Accident in Air Strike’ at Mainok which is about 55km to Maiduguri.
“The NAF wishes to state that visuals and reports being circulated are currently being investigated and the general public will be duly updated on the alleged incident,” the tweet read in part.
The attention of the @NigAirForce has been drawn to reports alleging “How NAF Killed over 20 Nigerian Army Personnel by Accident in Air Strike" at Mainok which is about 55km to Maiduguri. The NAF wishes to state that visuals and reports being circulated are currently being
-1/2 pic.twitter.com/dUxhL4U8yL— Nigerian Air Force (@NigAirForce) April 26, 2021
In a viral video shared across social media platforms, a man in an Army camouflage said his colleagues had sustained injuries from an air strike by operatives of the Nigerian Air Force.
Airforce killed our ground soldiers thinking they were Boko Haram.
This is usually the outcome of recruiting or taking soldiers and officers by godfatherism… Killing own troops… pic.twitter.com/I9uMSiHnU0
— Shehu Zubair (@shazy____) April 26, 2021
In April, at least 17 civilians, including women and children, were said to have been killed by a fighter jet belonging to the Nigerian Air Force during an air strike in Sakotoku village in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.
Similarly, in 2017, more than 100 persons consisting of camp residents and aid workers were killed when the Nigerian Air Force bombed Rann in Borno State. The military had said the officers fired a bomb into the camp thinking it was a base of the Boko Haram insurgent group.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94