By Gabriel Atumeyi
365Daily – Some residents of a community in Zamfara State have given an insight into how they rescued a pilot shortly after he parachuted following a crash of his fighter jet on Sunday, July 18, 2021.
The fate of other crew members, however, remains unknown.
According to sources who spoke on Monday, July 19, the fighter jet crashed near a community located 15km west of Dansadau town.
A resident said: “The pilot jumped down using parachute and quickly headed to a nearby community. The residents, upon realising what had happened, decided to hide him so that he might not be identified and killed by armed bandits.
“The armed criminals were spotted loitering around the scene of the crash, probably looking for any survivor.”
365Daily learnt that the Kumbayana forest, where the jet crashed, straddles Zamfara, Kebbi, and Niger states and is heavily infested by armed bandits led by Dogo Gide and one Sani Mochoko.
Dogo Gide is believed to have ties with Boko Haram.
A Daily Trust report alleged that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet aircraft was shot down by bandits on Sunday but the authorities denied the story.
However, in a statement on Monday, Spokesman of NAF, Edward Gabkwet, said the aircraft was attacked while returning from an air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna States.
He said the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, successfully ejected from the aircraft.
”Using his survival instincts, the pilot, who came under intense ground fire from the bandits, was able to evade them and sought refuge in nearby settlements waiting for sunset,” he stated.
The recent crash brings to four, the total crashes within one year, one of which claimed the life of a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.