Unmanned aerial vehicle crash-landed in Kaduna, says NAF (updated)

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed-landed in Kaduna on Monday.

Some residents of Igabi LGA of Kaduna had said they heard a loud sound from the scene of the crash around 5am.

A team of NAF officers arrived the scene soon afterwards and cordoned off the area.

Edward Gabkwet, NAF spokesperson, said in a statement that the UAV “experienced a mishap after take-off for a mission, at a location near Rumji Village and about 15 Km from Base”.

Gabkwet added that there were no casualties since the UAV was unmanned.

“Since it is an unmanned vehicle, there were no casualties on board or on ground. Preliminary investigation has since commenced to ascertain what may have caused the mishap,” the statement reads.

“Nigerians can be rest assured that this minor setback will not, in anyway, impinge on all ongoing operations.”

In March, a NAF Super Mushshak trainer aircraft crash-landed in Kaduna.

Over the years, NAF aircraft have crashed during missions in Niger, Benue, Rivers and Kaduna states.

In December, a NAF helicopter crash-landed during an operation against “economic saboteurs” in Rivers state.

Editor’s note: The original story suggested that a helicopter belonging to NAF had crash-landed in Kaduna. This story has been updated to reflect NAF’s statement that it was a UAV that crash-landed.