It is no longer news that a fighter aircraft, NAF 475, went off the radar on Wednesday evening in the North East.
The jet according to the Nigerian Air Force, was on a mission to provide support for troops on the ground fighting Boko Haram insurgents.
What is news however, is the war of words over what really happened to the jet.
Early Friday, the Abubakar Shekau-led faction of Boko Haram had claimed responsibility for bringing down the Alpha jet.
In a video released by Boko Haram on Friday, suspected insurgents are seen engaging the jet, which appears to be flying at low range, in a gunfight.
The insurgents are armed with machine guns, especially ones that seem to be anti-aircraft weapons.
As soon as the jet crashes, the insurgents move towards the debris, and start removing components from the jet.
But Edward Gabkwet, NAF spokesperson, in a statement late Friday, said the crash was an accident as the insurgents are not capable of bringing down the jet.
Hear Gabkwet: “Although the video is still being thoroughly analysed, it is evident that most parts of the video were deliberately doctored to give the false impression that the aircraft was shot down,” he 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. Indeed, an explosive impact of that nature would have scattered the debris of the aircraft across several miles.
“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.”
