We shot down surveillance helicopter in Niger state – Bandits

• The terrorists claimed they brought down the jet using an AK-47 rifle
• They said they belong to Dogo Gide group

The horde of rampaging bandits wreaking havoc in Nigeria’s middle belt have claimed responsibility for the crashed surveillance helicopter in Niger state.

Within Nigeria had on Monday reported that a surveillance helicopter crashed in Badna, Chukuba ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, while meeting with Niger State governor in his office, Abuja, stated that weather conditions, among others, may have contributed to the helicopter crash, adding that investigation had commenced to determine the probable cause of the incident.

But terrorists, in a two-minute-and-seventeen-seconds video, claimed they brought down the jet using an AK-47 rifle.

The narrator in the video, who spoke in Hausa, said they belonged to Dogo Gide group, one of the notorious bandits that have been terrorising parts of Niger State, causing deaths of many farmers and security operatives.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday night said that the tragic loss of gallant officers and soldiers in a helicopter crash at Chukuba Village near Shiroro, Niger State on Monday brought immense sadness to him.

The President said the officers and men were answering the call of duty while on an evacuation mission but paid the ultimate price in their dedicated service to their beloved country.

He said “while we mourn their untimely departure, we will forever remember them, not just as servicemen, but as national heroes who gave their all for the peace and security of our country.

“They will always be remembered as courageous men who did not consider the perils and dangers of their national duty as paramount to their sacred mandate of ensuring that their fellow countrymen and women can live in peace.”