The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has denied rumors making the rounds that members of the Boko Haram group shot down a helicopter at Banki, in Borno state killing all five occupants on board the aircraft.
The Force said there was no truth whatsoever to the said report by one of the national dailies over the said attack. It also said there was no helicopter crash in the state to have warranted the malicious report.
NAF director of public relations and information Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola who made made this known on the Nigerian Air Force Twitter handle however noted that a United Nation helicopter undertook a mission to Banki and returned safely to Maiduguri.
Daramola in his tweet said “It is sad that a respected media outlet like @daily_trust would publish a false, unverified report like this. No helicopter was shot down. No helicopter crashed in Borno State today. A UN helicopter indeed undertook a mission to Banki & has since returned to Maiduguri.
“One would have expected that, in line with the ethics of journalism, @daily_trust would have made more deliberate effort to verify the story by contacting relevant authorities before going to press, rather than propagating fake news.
