On Sunday evening, bombs and bullets went off in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. Multiple terrorists died, and multiple soldiers went with them.
The tragic incident has left families of the gallant soldiers distraught, anxious and curious to know what circumstances surrounded the military’s mission in the north-central state and what became of their relatives in the force.
They know a helicopter belonging to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) was downed on Monday near Chukuba village in Shiroro, but very little is known about the rescue mission the helicopter’s occupants had embarked upon.
Relatives of a soldier who lost his life in Sunday’s shootout between the military and terrorists have shared their accounts with FIJ.
We showed them a video of slain soldiers from the attack, and they identified Desmond Azubuike (not real name), their son, brother and cousin.
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Fighting back tears, Azubuike’s mother declined comment as she was still processing her son’s demise. She, however, told FIJ that the military was yet to contact the family officially.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Agnes Azubuike (not real name), Desmond’s cousin, said they first learned of his death on Monday.
“One of his colleagues first called to tell us that envious colleagues killed him on Monday morning because they were jealous of his promotion in the military, but we later understood it was a lie,” Agnes told FIJ.
“We later spoke to another colleague of his. This other man is a close friend we know. He told us Desmond and other soldiers were on patrol on Sunday evening when they stumbled on herders rustling cattle. He said the herders opened fire and the soldiers retaliated, leading to the death of about 50 of them.”
Agnes said her family did not understand why the military claimed the helicopter was heading to Kaduna when there were slain soldiers in Shiroro. She was referring to an official statement released by Edward Gabkwet, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force.
Gabkwet said the aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School and was en route to Kaduna when it crashed near Chukuba village.
Agnes believes the helicopter was on a rescue mission to Shiroro and was downed by the terrorists, but she has not heard from the military.
It is not the first time that such an incident would occur. On July 14, a NAF trainer aircraft crashed in Makurdi, the Benue State capital. On April 19, 2022, another NAF trainer aircraft crashed in a NAF base in Kaduna, killing its occupants.
Prior to these crashes, in February 2021, seven people died in a NAF King Air 350 crash after the aircraft suffered engine failure in Abuja while on its way to Minna in Niger State.
Three months after, Ibrahim Attahiru, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at the time, died in a NAF air crash in Kaduna along with some of his aides.
The post Niger Attack: Family Find Son Among Slain Soldiers in Trending Video — But They Are Yet to Hear From the Army appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.