Contrary to allegations by Emirs in Zamfara state, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has said it conduct series of intelligence before striking any identified locations and never used bombs in fighting banditry in the North-east.
Spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, gave the clarification on Thursday during a Press Conference at the NAF headquarters in Abuja.
This came after the Zamfara state Council of Chiefs at a Press Conference in Gusau released names of 11 citizens on Wednesday, allegedly killed during NAF air strike during its operation against bandits in the state.
The State Council of Chiefs, represented by the Sarkin Fulanin Bungudu, Alhaji Hassan Attahiru, also named 11 people that allegedly sustained injuries and 20 people whose houses were destroyed, even as it reiterated its earlier stance that NAF attacks hit innocent civilians instead of bandit camps.
The emirs also raised the alarm over what they called unexploded bombs dropped on the Dumburum community by NAF.
They called on the security operatives to go and defuse the bombs so that it would not detonate and kill innocent residents.
But the NAF spokesperson said: “before any attack mission is conducted or any target is engaged, the NAF ensures that it carries out detailed Intelligence Survellance abd Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, as a follow-up to reliable credible human intelligence to ensure proper targeting in order to, as much as possible, avoid collateral damage.
“Furthermore, as standard practice, NAF attack aircraft on air interdiction missions are accompanied by ISR platforms that guide them to designated targets. Moreover, NAF pilots, by training and in line with extant Rules of Engagement for any operation, do not attack any location if it is observed that non-combatants are present.
“As a responsible Service, the NAF also wishes to clarify that in all its air strikes in the North West, bombs were never used. This has been deliberately done in view of the nature of threat as well as the operational environment, despite the fact that the armed bandits have Anti-Aircraft Gun in their possession. The allegation that bombs were used is therefore not only false but out rightly misleading.”
He said the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has ordered a high powered Panel of Inquiry to investigate the veracity or otherwise of the claim by the Zamfara state Council of Chiefs.
The Panel, according to him, is headed by an Air Vice Marshal, and would work with the Zamfara State government as well as the Zamfara State Council of Chiefs and other stakeholders.
“The Panel will start its investigation from Katsina, the Headquarters of Operation DIRAN MIKYA, before proceeding to Gusau and other relevant locations Zamfara State to properly scrutinize all evidence presented by the Zamfara State Council of Chiefs. At the end of the investigation, members of the public would be duly informed,” he said.
Dramola said since the launch of Operation DIRAN MIKIYA on July 30, 2018 to flush out armed bandits terrorizing Zamfara State and its environs, NAF had conducted a total of 827 missions, in 1,027 sorties, flying about 1,500 hours and consuming about 630,000 litres of aviation fuel in order to ensure the security of lives and property of the people of Zamfara State and other affected States in the North-west.
