The wreckage of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) fighter jet — NAF 475 — that went missing last week has been reportedly found in Bama, Borno State, after five days of intense search by the military.
It would be recalled that Boko Haram militant group had on Friday claimed it shot down the fighter jet which went missing on Wednesday, following a statement by NAF that it might have crashed.
According to a military source quoted by THISDAY, the wreckage of the military plane has been discovered with the body of one of the pilots, Flight Lieutenant Chapele Ebiakpo found intact.
However, the source added that the fate of the other pilot, Flight Lieutenant John Abolarinwa, was yet to be known as of the time of reporting.
The Air Force had declared the Alpha Jet fighter aircraft, NAF 475, missing on March 31.
Though the terrorist group, Boko Haram, claimed to have shot down the plane, the military has since refuted the claim, terming it as another propaganda targeted at bolstering its image.
Earlier, Edward Gabkwet, Spokesman of the air force, had said Boko Haram fighters were not capable of bringing down the jet.
“Although the video is still being thoroughly analysed, it is evident that most parts of the video were deliberately doctored to give the false impression that the aircraft was shot down.
“It is obvious that the Boko Haram sect, in its characteristic manner of employing false propaganda, is seeking to claim credit for what was obviously an air accident that could have been caused by several other reasons; particularly at a time when the capability of the group to inflict mayhem has been significantly degraded by the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” he said in a statement.
Also, a Sweden-based security analyst, Mr Hugo Kaaman, has accused the Boko Haram sect of deceiving Nigerians and particularly the NAF with a clip from a 2012 incident in Syria to claim responsibility for the missing Alpha Jet (NAF 475).
“Boko Haram just released a video claiming it shows a NAF jet shot down by the group. Looking at the video, it appears as if the jet explodes mid-air. However, this is not true. BH took a 2012 video showing a SyAAF helicopter exploding mid-air over Idlib and superimposed it. Weak.”
The jet, according to Air Force spokesman, Commodore Gabkwet, was on an interdiction mission in support of ground troops as part of the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North-East when it vanished from the radar.
It lost radar contact at about 5:08 p.m. on 31 March 2021.
