Bandits have claimed responsibility for the crash of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) MI-171 helicopter which occurred on Monday near Chukuba village in Niger State during a casualty evacuation mission. The bandits made this disclosure in a two-minute-and-seventeen-second video released on Tuesday, claiming that they brought down the aircraft using AK-47 rifles. According to the video narrator, who spoke in Hausa, he stated that they were part of Dogo Gide group, one of the most notorious bandit group operating and terrorizing parts of Niger state and responsible for the deaths of civilians and security personnel.

An aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force crashed on its way to Niger State; the incident reportedly took place at about 1 pm on 14th August 2023. It was confirmed that the flight which took off from Kaduna was en route to Minna, the Niger State capital when the tragic incident occurred. NAF revealed that the aircraft was on a casualty evacuation mission when the crash happened. A statement on Monday by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet confirming the incident stated the aircraft departed Zungeru Primary School en route to Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed in a village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger.

Nigerians in Niger have beseeched the Federal Government to hasten up plans on evacuating them from the embattled Nigeriens and returning home before any war breaks out. The Nigerian who made this public on Saturday said the appeal became necessary so as to avoid being caught up in the line of fire and to avoid a repeat of what happened in Sudan where many Nigerian students were trapped when fighting broke out between the government forces and rebels.

Troops of the 82 Division of the Nigerian in collaboration with other security agencies have successfully raided the hideout of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), at Imufu in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The Nigerian Army has vowed to put an end to the insecurity, ranging from Kidnapping, banditry, and other related criminal activities in the South-East geopolitical zone in a very short period of time, stressing that no stone will be left unturned.

The Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB), has accused the Finland-based Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, of using the Eastern Security Network, ESN, to defraud people. The group made the remark while distancing ESN from Ekpa, stressing that he’s not a registered unit member of the security outfit.