‘Air Force Has Nothing to Apologise About’ – Governor Yari

Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, has warned that there was no apology over air strikes that killed bandits and urged the Nigerian Air Force to continue its operations in order to send out the bandits from their camps.

Governor Yari alleged that some people had hidden agenda against the progress of the state and he has not seen anything wrong with the operations of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

This statement is following the accusation laid on NAF by the Emir of Bugundu that air strikes killed innocent civilians not bandits.

Governor Yari said this while receiving
a 7-man investigation team led by Air Vice Marshall Lubo at his Talata-Mafara private residence on Saturday.

“As far as I am concerned and as the head of government in the state (Zamfara), l haven’t seen anything wrong done by the air force, l haven’t received any brief on such matter.

“Dumburum has been a criminal hideout for over three years and the Emir of Zurmi has once asked me to go and wipe out the area saying all those residing there were bandits, so l am surprised that the emir will be part of those saying innocent people were killed in an encounter in the area,” he said.

Yari reportedly alleged that “some people will stay in Abuja and fabricate things against the operations in Zamfara in order to distract the operation, this we must not allow’’.

“Please, all security agencies especially the air force should continue with your usual constitutional duties and the state government will give you all the support to facilitate your concentration in trying to bring back peace which has eluded the state since 2007.

“You should continue with fire power to show the criminals that there is a government in place and we won’t negotiate with them again because when we did that in the past, the leaders pretended as if all was well while they allowed their boys to continue to lay siege on the communities,” he said.

Also Read: Airforce Commence Investigation Into Zamfara Air Strike Mishap Allegation

Presenting a letter of condolence to the governor from the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, the team leader, AVM Idi Lubo said it was part of the chief’s concern in case the allegations were true.

He said, “the Chief of Air Staff has directed us to properly investigate the matter in order to unravel the truth.

“We have visited other stakeholders and discovered that there was misinformation which we have now resolved and wish to assure the people of the state that we shall continue to discharge our assigned responsibilities in protecting the innocent with professionalism.”

Source: (NANS)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *