The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) announced on Thursday that 36 military officers were killed in Niger State.
Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, confirmed the casualties when he gave a breakdown of the ambush of troops in Niger State and an evacuation helicopter that crashed on August 14, 2023.
Terrorists had claimed responsibility to shooting a Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission that crashed at Badna, Chukuba ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State on Monday.
The breakdown was given at the biweekly briefing of the Defence Media Operations.
When asked about the cause of the helicopter crash, he restated that an investigation is still underway to determine the cause.
He urged citizens to be cautious of propaganda and fake news by terrorists and implored them to remain patriotic.
Recall that the terrorists in a two-minute-seventeen-second video had claimed that they shot down the military helicopter with an AK47 weapon.
The narrator in the video, who spoke Hausa, said the terrorists responsible for the take down belonged to Dogo Gide group, one of the notorious bandits that had terrorised parts of Niger State, causing deaths of many farmers and security operatives.
It was gathered that there had been ongoing counter terrorism efforts in the axis which had lead to the death of 53 terrorists.
However, President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, mourned the death of troops killed by bandits in an ambush in the Shiroro area of Niger State, as well as the crash of a Nigerian Air Force helicopter in the state on Monday.
The President, in a statement he personally signed on Tuesday, stated that the incidents brought him “immense sadness.”
He said, “These officers and men were answering the call of duty while on an evacuation mission. In their dedicated service to our beloved country, they paid the ultimate price.”
While commending the courage and devotion of the fallen soldiers, Tinubu said, “On behalf of a grateful nation, I extend my condolences to their families, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Air Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, and the entire Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
This was as the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, vowed that the military would rid Niger State and other states of banditry and insurgency.
