NAF clarifies crash incident in Kaduna, confirms UAV mishap

By Innocent Raphael

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has confirmed that an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, crashed in Kaduna on Monday morning, contrary to earlier reports of a helicopter crash.

AVM Edward Gabkwet, Director of Public Relations and Information for NAF, issued a statement on Monday in Abuja to clarify the situation. He emphasized that no helicopter crash had occurred.

“Contrary to reports on social media and some traditional media outlets that a NAF helicopter had crashed in Kaduna earlier today, July 1, be informed that no helicopter crash occurred. Instead, a NAF Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) experienced a mishap after take-off for a mission at a location near Rumji Village, about 15 kilometers from Base. Since it is an unmanned vehicle, there were no casualties on board or on the ground,” Gabkwet stated.

He added that a preliminary investigation has commenced to determine the cause of the mishap. Gabkwet assured Nigerians that this minor setback would not affect ongoing operations.

He also criticized the media’s rush to publish unverified information, noting, “The propensity to always rush to press in the name of ‘breaking news’ without a hold of the complete facts should be discouraged in its entirety. While the news of the crash filtered in, some outlets misinformed Nigerians that a helicopter had crashed without the decency to clarify from the NAF.”

Gabkwet urged media outlets to adhere to principles of developmental journalism, balanced reporting, and fairness by seeking clarification from authorized military sources before publishing news.