The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has said that it was an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that crashed, and not an helicopter as earlier reported
NAF’s spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, made this known in a press release on Monday, following reports of the crash of one of its helicopters.
He said that no helicopter crash occurred. Instead, a NAF Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) experienced a mishap after take-off for a mission at a location near Rumji Village and about 15 Km from Base.
“Since it is an unmanned vehicle, there were no casualties on board or on ground. Preliminary investigation has since commenced to ascertain what may have caused the mishap. Nigerians can be rest assured that this minor setback will not, in anyway, impinge on all ongoing operations”.
There were several reports earlier that a NAF helicopter, said to be on an anti-terrorism operational flight, experienced technical difficulties and crashed in Tami village, located in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The reports also said that the pilot managed to execute emergency protocols effectively, ensuring his emergence from the wreckage largely unscathed.
Reacting further, Gabkwet urged members of the media to always “seek clarification from authorized military outlets before rushing to ‘break’ the news”, adding that the propensity to always rush to press in the name of ‘breaking news’ without a hold of the complete facts negates the principle of developmental journalism, balanced reporting and fairness, and therefore should be discouraged in its entirety.
