The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has said that the military airstrike of January 24 in Nasarawa State only targeted and eliminated terrorists.
NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ayodele Famuyiwa disclosed this at the bi-weekly news briefing on the operations of the armed forces in Abuja on Thursday, June 15.
Famuyiwa who faulted a 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, said the air strike was carried out after series of intel and surveillance. He insisted that innocent civilians were not killed as being speculated in some quarters.
The NAF spokesperson also challenged the organization to produce evidence to prove the allegation that those killed in the airstrike were not terrorists.
He said;
“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?
“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 operations 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.”