At least two military pilots were reported dead yesterday evening as a Nigerian Air Force trainer aircraft crashed at a training base in Kaduna.
An Air Force officer who pleaded anonymity explained that, the trainer aircraft only carried two personnel, noting that mechanical fault might be responsible for the crash.
The officer further explained why the confirmation of the incident was delayed.
He said, “First, when such unfortunate incident happens, the Air Force authority will inform families of those affected before going to press. If the Air Force authority fails to inform them first before going public, the families will be angry.
“The trainer aircraft is a small aircraft that carries two on board during training. The incident happened at the training base runaway,” she said.
In May 2021, a NAF aircraft crashed in Kaduna killing the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other military officers.
Also, bandits on Monday deposited three dead bodies among those that were kidnapped from Angwan Bulus in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State and threatened killing more of their abductees if demanded ransom is not paid accordingly and on time.
They however released 18 others they kidnapped two months ago after ransom were paid.
It would be recalled that, Angwan Bulus community was invaded by the bandits two weeks ago, where one local was killed and several others abducted.
A source in the community who confirmed the development to journalists in Kaduna, said, the bandits had called their community contact to go to a particular location at Dutse village along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway to pick up the three persons killed due to failure to pay ransom placed on their heads.
“The bandits called earlier yesterday that they had killed three of the people they kidnapped and told us where their bodies were deposited,’ the source stated.
“The terrorists said since we refused to pay the ransom, we should go to a location and carry the corpses of our people.
“Before we got there, we learnt that police had already evacuated the bodies and deposited them at Saint Gerald Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna. We were at the hospital last night to confirm that.
“The terrorists made further threats that if the community and families failed to pay the ransom by tomorrow evening (Tuesday evening), they should go to the same spot and carry another set of corpses.
“Right now, we are confused. We don’t know what to do. We have sold all we ever worked for to appease these people but they want more. We are appealing to the federal and state governments to come to our rescue to save the remaining people in captivity,’ the source added in tears.
The Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muhammad Jalige, confirmed the development via a telephone call.
“I received phone calls from some people this morning of three dead bodies that were found at Dutse village somewhere in the bush. The corpses were evacuated to Saint Gerald Hospital. We are trying to talk to the area commander to ensure the safe return of those who are still in captivity,” he said.
In the same vein, eight of the 20 persons that were abducted in Idon town, Kajuru LGA, have been released by their abductors after spending about two months in captivity.
“They were released on Sunday after ransom was paid. They said we need to bring additional ransom before they can release the remaining 12 persons.
“We have reported the recurrence of bandits’ attacks in Kajuru and Kachia to higher authorities but they have not done anything concrete to stop the attacks. As we speak, there are several others in the kidnappers’ den apart from these 12 people,” another source who spoke under condition of anonymity disclosed.