By OUR REPORTER, Abuja
Five months after the controversial murder by military air strikes conducted by the Nigerian Air Force on January 24, 2023 in Rukubi, Nasarawa State, the the NAF Thursday June 15 finally gave official statement, which not only owned up to the much denied operations but said it only targeted and eliminated terrorists by them.
This was coming from the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Commodore Ayodele Famuyiwa, while reacting to questions at a bi-weekly news briefing on the operations of the armed forces, in Abuja.
He said the air strike was carried out after a series of intel and surveillance, adding that innocent civilians were not killed as being speculated in some quarters.
He faulted the report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleging that the NAF bombarded herders who were evacuating their cattle in Kwatiri, a border community between Benue and Nasarawa.
In its report on June 7, HRW said “Nigerian authorities have provided little information and no justice” with regard to the airstrike.
“Although the authorities admitted carrying out the raid, the organisation said, they evaded “key questions” concerning the circumstances surrounding the attack.
HRW said their preliminary investigations revealed that the pastoralists had gone to Kwatiri to pay fines for the release of their cattle seized by the Benue State Livestock Guards when they were struck in the air raid.
But in his reaction to the report on Thursday, NAF spokesman challenged the organisation to produce evidence to prove the allegation that those killed in the airstrike were not terrorists.
According to him, there had been Intel from several reliable sources of the activities of terrorists in that particular area.
“You are all aware of the nefarious activities of criminal elements in that part of the country.
“We are also aware that there is an ongoing operation, that is, Operation Whirl Stroke and the Intel came from several sources and even to the commander of that operation for the air component that there was plan by terrorists within that area to carry out a massive attack.
“And then there was a secondary school in question that they also planned to kidnap students.
“To that extent, the air force carried out surveillance and the surveillance confirmed that there were terrorists and that surveillance continued for almost throughout the day until later in the evening when a truck appeared in that scene.
“The truck was suspected to have brought logistics to them and that was why approval was given by the appropriate authority that that truck be taken out and the truck was taken out.
“Now if anyone is coming around to say innocent people were killed where is the photograph of the truck that brought the cattle that they are talking about?” he asked.
Famuyiwa said the claim that the people came there to pay for their cattle was not tenable.
He also challenged anyone accusing the military to come out with proof such as photographs of the said truck, the cattle and dead bodies.
“The position of the air force is that terrorists were struck that day and whether it is whatever group and if they think they were innocent people, let them provide the evidence.
“If you think the military is going to give you the evidence of that operation for now, you won’t get it because there are information that cannot be declassified now.
“Let the people who said innocent citizens were killed, provide the evidence and let the press do the analysis and then the truth will come up,” he said.
