No Helicopter Was Shot Down In Borno — Nigeria Air Force

No helicopter was shot down by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno state today, the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has said.

Naija News recalls that news had emerged in the afternoon, suggesting that a helicopter was shot down by Boko Haram members in Borno state today, killing five persons.

The report said the Boko Haram terrorists shot down a helicopter in Banki, a community in Borno state leading to the death of the five passengers in the helicopter.

Reacting to the report in a terse statement on the micro-blogging site, Twitter,  Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the Director of Public Relations and Information Headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), said the report is untrue.

“No helicopter was shot down. No helicopter crashed in Borno State today. A UN helicopter indeed undertook a mission to Banki & has since returned to Maiduguri,” he tweeted, questioning why the fake emerged in the first place.

According to him, “It is sad, that a respected media outlet like @daily_trust would publish a false, unverified report like this. No helicopter was shot down. No helicopter crashed in Borno State today. A UN helicopter indeed undertook a mission to Banki & has since returned to Maiduguri

“One would have expected that, in line with the ethics of journalism, @daily_trust would have made more deliberate effort to verify the story by contacting relevant authorities before going to press, rather than propagating fake news.”

(2/2) One would have expected that, in line with the ethics of journalism, @daily_trust would have made more deliberate effort to verify the story by contacting relevant authorities before going to press, rather than propagating fake news.

— Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola (@KunleDaramola3) November 17, 2020