Govt. confirms NAF fighter jet killed six children

thecornetadmin April 21, 2022

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The Niger State Government has confirmed a fighter jet belonging to the Nigeria Air Force killed six children in the state last week.

Ibrahim Matane, who is secretary to the Niger state government, confirmed the incident, adding it was being investigated.

“Yes, it occurred, the government is looking into the incident and an investigation is ongoing to ascertain what happened,” he said.

TheCornet gathered that the NAF fighter jet was deployed against terrorists operating in Shiroro Local Government area of the state.

A community leader, Salis Sambo, explained that the children were killed as the fighter jets tried to bomb some terrorists who ran into the community for safety.

Sambo, who is the chairperson of Coalition of Shiroro Associations, said the affected children were returning from the stream where they had gone to fetch water.

He added that four of the children were members of the same family.

“It was the terrorists that they were targeting. That week, there were about four airstrikes carried out in Shiroro and scores of terrorists were killed. The terrorists ran into the community to take refuge and when the explosives were shelled, it affected the children. It wasn’t deliberate,” he added.