The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has slammed the doctored video being circulated by Boko Haram claiming responsibility for shooting down the NAF jet fighter. The NAF 475 jet was deployed on a mission to bombard Boko Haram terrorists during an operation at the Sambisa forest when it went off the radar on Wednesday 31st March 2021, with two pilots on board, Flight Lieutenant John Abolarinwa, and Flight Lieutenant Ebiakpo Chapele. Subsequently, Boko Haram released a video claiming it was behind the downing of the said fighter jet.
However, in a counter statement by the Director of public relation and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, he urged Nigerians to dismiss the claim by the terrorists, saying the video being circulated was doctored in a bid to sway the public and also give the impression that the terrorists are still strong.
Gabkwet said, “For instance, the video clip failed to show the correlation between the sporadic shooting, which even from casual observation was obviously aimed at ground targets, and the sudden mid-air aircraft explosion. In addition, it is almost impossible for an aircraft to have exploded mid-air in the manner depicted in the video and still have a good part of its fuselage, including its tail, intact.
“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 added.
Analyzing the Boko Haram video, a Swedish-based analyst, Hugo Kaaman, revealed the Boko Haram took the clip from a 2012 incident in Syria to claim responsibility for what they are not concerning the missing jet.
Kaaman explained that Looking at the video, it appears the jet exploded mid-air. However, this is not true. Boko Haram took a 2012 video showing a SyAAF helicopter exploding mid-air over Idlib and superimposed it.
Comparing the videos, Kaaman revealed that “Just to be clear, the jet really crashed. It is unclear whether this was due to hostile fire or technical issues. The wreckage can be seen in the same Boko Haram video. This video merely highlights Boko Haram’s fake footage of the shoot-down itself,”
Reacting also, a security expert, Abubakar Ismail also said, “Bringing down an aircraft such as the one we saw will require serious precision and a ballistic missile; it was not a helicopter. But the fact that it went in flames mid-air showed that something happened.”
Meanwhile, an aviation expert has called for collaborative synergy between the military and the civil aviation authority to reduce the incidents of military crashes, saying the aviation expert suggests the military should include the aviation expertise into checking their flights before they embark on such operation rather than doing it on their own.
Another aviation expert, Alex Nwuba suggested that there is a need to improve tracking of military personnel on such missions whether they are captured in the forest or consumed by crashes or any other obstacle. This will go a long way in safeguarding the lives of those who are defending us when the right tools are made available.
Captain John Ojikutu rtd, an aviation expert said there is a need for the National air traffic Services as practiced in developed climes as against Civil Air traffic being practiced in the country.
He explained, “The disconnect between the military and civil air traffic was penalty loss in the US during the 9/11. A national air traffic service is the baby of the civil and the military, the way it is in the UK. We had similar set up in 1990 but wrongly put under the FCAA. We should revisit it,”