NAF Helicopter Makes Precautionary Landing on Benue Farmland After Anti-Kidnap Operation

A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter made what the military has described as a “precautionary landing” on farmland in Benue State, after completing a close air support mission for ground troops fighting suspected kidnappers.

The incident happened in the Utur Tse-Igboji community in Makurdi, where eyewitnesses reported seeing the military aircraft land on farmland.

According to the NAF, the helicopter had been supporting an operation targeting criminal elements in Ogbadigbo Local Government Area, near the Enugu-Benue boundary.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Ehimen Ejodame, said the mission successfully disrupted the activities of the suspected kidnappers while assisting troops on the ground.

Ejodame clarified that the helicopter did not experience any emergency. The landing, he said, was a standard safety measure taken after the mission was completed.

“Following the successful completion of the mission, the pilot, on return to base, exercised his professional discretion to execute a precautionary landing approximately 10 nautical miles from the airfield. This is in accordance with established operational and safety procedures following combat missions. The helicopter has returned to base,” the statement read.

This incident comes just two days after a separate NAF aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, a tragedy that has raised concerns about the safety of military aviation operations.

That aircraft, an ATR-42 with registration number NGR 931, crashed into a swamp near the naval base in the early hours of Monday. It was carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members.

Following the Ondo crash, Ejodame said the Chief of the Air Staff, Sunday Aneke, described it as a deeply painful incident for the Nigerian Air Force and the nation. The NAF confirmed that no survivors were found.

President Bola Tinubu has since declared three days of national mourning in honour of those who lost their lives in the crash.