The Niger State government has debunked the claims that it confirmed the killing of six children by a fighter jet of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
In a statement on Thursday in Minna, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Matane, described the report suggesting that he gave the confirmation as false.
He also faulted the report published by an online newspaper in which he purportedly detailed how the six children were killed, stressing that he never granted such an interview to any media outfit.
According to Matane, the report is a false and grossly misleading publication, and the public is advised to disregard the fake news.
He wondered how a reputable newspaper outfit could publish a sensitive security report of that nature without ‘proper confirmation’.
The SSG, therefore, called on members of the fourth estate of the realm and the public to desist from publishing or airing fake and unsubstantiated stories, but verify from credible sources before making them public.
Amid the report that six children were killed in an airstrike on Thursday in Niger, a community leader accused NAF of bombing houses in Kurebe in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.
Salis Sabo, a spokesperson for the Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA), in a statement claimed the strikes occurred on April 13, although NAF authorities have yet to react to the allegation.
Part of the statement read, “Six children were bombed to pieces by an explosion from fighter jet belonging to Nigerian Air Force in Kurebe, Shiroro Local Government of Niger State.
“The incident happened on Wednesday the 13th of April 2020, in the morning when the children were coming back to fetch water from a motorised borehole within Kurebe community.
“A man who lost two of his daughters and two granddaughters in the incident said, ‘there was no single bandit within the village at the time the aircraft bombarded the innocent children. He added that the terrorists’ camps are well known.
“He said the terrorists around the community are of two groups, with two different camps. One links up with the community through Unguwan Zomo; the other through Kwantan Yashi area. Therefore, they do not understand why fighter jet would be targeting the community where civilians live.