By Bukola Kayode
The Defence Headquarters has said that the deaths of 10 villagers in Sokoto State were a result of a secondary explosion at the Lakurawa terrorist logistics base, not by an airstrike conducted by the Nigerian Air Force.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, on Friday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen. Edward Buba stated that the airstrike was a precision-guided operation targeting the terrorist hideout in the area.
Buba blamed the death of the villagers on the secondary explosion triggered by the destruction of the terrorists’ logistics base.
He said: “The airstrike indeed hit the logistics base of the terrorists, which led to secondary explosions. It was these explosions that caused the casualties reported earlier.
“When I talk of the logistics base, I’m referring to hand cartridges and poles that were kept there. Naturally, when the munition hits, there will be a secondary explosion arising from that, which will generate… you know, other things flying in the air. That led to the death of about 10 persons that were reported. The 10 persons were not hit directly by the airstrikes,” Buba said.
Buba further explained that intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and human intelligence were carried out over an extended period before the operation was conducted.
He said: “Sustained intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance were conducted over an extended period to confirm the presence of terrorists in the area and to ensure that those present were indeed terrorists. Due to these painstaking measures, the operation, initially scheduled for an earlier date, had to be rescheduled to the 25th, when it was ultimately carried out. The operation was planned as a joint effort, leveraging the air component’s precision strike capabilities and the land component’s advantage of having boots on the ground,” he said.
“This operation began with pre-operational intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions to confirm terrorist activities in the general area. Subsequently, human intelligence was deployed, and their reports corroborated the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance findings, highlighting the strategic importance of neutralising the location. Once confirmed, aircraft were dispatched to conduct precision airstrikes on the identified hideouts at approximately 0600 hours on the specified day.”
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