Air Force fighter jet missing in Adamawa

The Defence Headquarters has declared an Air Force Fighter Jet with two pilots missing in Adamawa State.

A statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade on the incident said, “An Alpha Jet (NAF 466) belonging to the Nigerian Air Force is missing around Adamawa State. The aircraft, with two pilots on board, left Yola at about 10:45 a.m. on 12 September 2014 on a routine operational mission and was expected back by 12:00 noon. Since then all efforts to establish contact with the aircraft have not yielded any positive result.

Pilots still missing

Meanwhile, search and rescue effort is ongoing to establish contact with the crew”.
There were fears that the fighter plane may have been shot down by Boko Haram terrorists using rocket propelled anti-aircraft guns.

It was gathered that the plane was overflying Mubi, Michika, Bazza, Gulak, Madagali, Gwoza axis when it suddenly disappeared from the radar.

Sources told Vanguard that the (AA) anti-aircraft guns used by the Boko Haram insurgents  may have been used by the terrorists on the aircraft.

There are strong indications however that the missing Fighter Jet may have been located in Lala in Gombi Local Government area of Adamawa state. Sources close to the Airforce base in Yola who confirmed this did not give further details.

Meanwhile, Adamawa State Acting Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has sympathized with the Nigeria Airforce over the loss of one of its Fighter Jets which was confirmed to have crashed in the State while on a mission to flush out insurgents in some towns.

The Acting governor’s message was contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Comrade Solomon Kumangar.

He, however, saluted the resilience of the Nigerian Military and the gains they are making in the war against the insurgents.

We are determined to reclaim all towns,  says Military

Meanwhile following recent successes recorded by troops of the Nigerian military over Boko Haram insurgents in several battle fronts and the positive feedback from Nigerians, the Defence headquarters has assured that troops will continue to march forward until all Nigerian communities were reclaimed.

It will be recalled that Nigerian troops supported from the air by the Nigerian airforce fighter jets and helicopter gunships, have dealt heavy blows on the insurgents in battles at Kawuri, Bama, Bimtim, Michika, Gulak and Konduga.

While noting that citizen’s acknowledgement of the efforts of the military was encouraging, DHQ said troops’ morale has been boosted by this in recent days.

Several tweets posted on DHQ handle in this regard read, “We acknowledge our citizens’ increased goodwill recently. The troops are boosted by your support”.

No place for the feeble minded in the armed forces — Jonathan

In a related development, against the backdrop of reported cases of soldiers deserting the army and abdicating responsibility in the battle to dislodge Boko Haram from the North East, President Goodluck Jonathan has said there is no place for the feeble minded and heartless in the Nigerian armed forces.

Read more: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/boko-haram-air-force-fighter-jet-missing-adamawa/