• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • ICPC Secures Conviction of Rector for Running Unaccredited Degree Programmes

      Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Trade Facilitation: Nigeria Customs, NACCIMA Strengthen Partnership

      Economic Confidential to Host 3rd Public Lecture, Unveil Books on Nigeria’s…

      Luanda Summit: AUDA-NEPAD Taps AI, Green Bonds as it Launches Marketplace…

      Tinubu Jets to Brazil After Japan Summit, Eyes Trade, Security Deals

      Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi (MFR), hosted the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Dr. Zacch Adedeji,

      Customs and the “National Single Window” Project

  • National
    • NDLEA Logo

      Drug Kingpin, 5 Others Arrested as NDLEA Moves to Clear Innocent…

      Senator Shehu Buba Condoles with APC National Chairman over Mother’s Death

      Customs College Graduates 50 Officers, Urges Innovation, Discipline

      Police Repatriate Wanted Chinese Fugitive

      Prof ibrahim gambari Chief of Staff

      Reciprocity, Key to Global Relations, Says Ex-Minister Gambari

    • Government
      • African Security: Nigeria Leads from the Front By Edward Gabkwet

        Senator Shehu Buba Condoles with APC National Chairman over Mother’s Death

        CG Custom Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and Zacch Adedeji

        Is Zacch Adedeji Building Bridges for Nigeria’s Revenue Future? By Yushau…

        ACF

        Arewa Consultative Forum Engages Influencers to Amplify Northern Identity

        FG, States, LGs Share N2.001trn for July, Says FAAC

  • Security
    • Customs, CDCFIB Forge Partnership to Boost National Security

      General Musa Rallies African Defence Chiefs to Build Homegrown Security Solutions

      Army Hands Over Fake Major to Police in Lagos

      African Security: Nigeria Leads from the Front By Edward Gabkwet

      NDLEA Logo

      Drug Kingpin, 5 Others Arrested as NDLEA Moves to Clear Innocent…

  • Features
    • African Security: Nigeria Leads from the Front By Edward Gabkwet

      CG Custom Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and Zacch Adedeji

      Is Zacch Adedeji Building Bridges for Nigeria’s Revenue Future? By Yushau…

      Army soldiers security

      Mattress of Terror: Can Nigeria Ever Be Truly Secure? By Haroon…

      The Arrest of Ansaru Kingpins Mahmud Muhammad Usman aka Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud al-Nigeri aka Mallam Mamuda

      Ribadu and the fall of Ansaru By Senator Iroegbu

      Fixing the Fault Lines in Nigeria’s Culture of Recognition, By Mukhtar…

  • State
    • Army Hands Over Fake Major to Police in Lagos

      NDLEA Logo

      Drug Kingpin, 5 Others Arrested as NDLEA Moves to Clear Innocent…

      Military Troops in Action

      Troops Repel Bandits Attack in Katsina, Rescue Abductees in Kogi

      Police Officer

      Police Repel Bandit Attack, Arrest Child Trafficker, Rescue 11 Victims in…

      AbdulRazaq visits Babanla, other communities as new security deployments boost public…

  • Event
    • Economic Confidential to Host 3rd Public Lecture, Unveil Books on Nigeria’s…

      President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

      His Death is a National Loss, Tinubu Mourns Emir of Zuru

      Umar Lauya

      Umar Lauya Declares Candidacy for NYCN Presidency, Vows to Unite and…

      The Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Sugar Department Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin (L), with the CEO of Legacy Sugar Company, Alh. Abubakar Isa Musa (R), during the signing ceremony.

      NSDC, New Operators Seal Landmark Development Agreements, to Produce 400,000MT of…

      Regional Vice President Western and Central Africa at the World Bank, Mr Ousmane Diagana pays a courtesy visit to Baze University

      World Bank Vice President visits Baze University, Commends Educational Standards, Assures…

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home Features NAF 475 and Boko Haram Propaganda Machinery
  • Features
  • Security

NAF 475 and Boko Haram Propaganda Machinery

By
Chidi Omeje
-
April 9, 2021
NAF Jet
NAF Jet

NAF 475 and Boko Haram Propaganda Machinery

By Chidi Omeje

The Nigerian military is facing two major battle grounds in their war against Boko haram: the battle of firepower which they wage in the trenches and the battle of narratives they are confronting in the media.

In the trenches are where the troops engage the Boko Haram combatants fire for fire (from ground and air) and in the media is where the military are confronted with an attritional battle of narratives waged by Boko Haram propaganda machinery aided by fifth columnists and other unpatriotic elements who erroneously believe that by rubbishing the military they are getting at the federal government. In these two formidable battle frontlines, the war is indeed raging.

The thing about these two battlegrounds is that none can be ignored or taken for granted as each reinforces the other. While the Nigerian military, expectedly, has the upper hand in fire power and has consistently pounded the adversaries whose biggest strength is hitting of soft targets, the same cannot be said in the battle of narratives where the terrorists have proven to be very adept.

The Boko Haram propaganda machinery is definitely well-oiled and grinding. They know that in war, truth is the first casualty, and so, they are ever ready to murder the truth. Proficient in the manipulation and deployment of social media possibilities for its messaging and claims of invincibility, the terrorists also found a natural ally and partner in the hordes of very unpatriotic elements and agent provocateurs who are not only willing to buy into Boko Haram propaganda, no matter how incredulous but desperate to orchestrate them, using the instrumentality of the media, especially the social media.

But of course the Boko Haram terrorists cannot do without media publicity. Publicity, we have been told, is the oxygen of terrorism and the media is the most effective means of publicity. It therefore does not come to anyone as a surprise that Boko Haram can go to any length to dominate the narratives via the media. What is rather surprising is that some people are yet to see through this well-known gimmick which the violent group deploys. More curious is the fact that some folks are prepared to believe the propaganda efforts of the terrorists, hook, line and sinker and even go to the extent of using such fabrications and outright lies dished by the group to paint a picture of their invincibility. We have seen this happen over and over again but none was as brazen and mendacious as the now busted claim by the terrorist group that it shot down the Nigerian Air Force fighter jet.

On the night of Wednesday, 31 March, 2021, the Nigerian Air Force announced the missing of its Alpha jet which it said lost radar contact. The jet fighter according to the press statement issued by the Director, Public Relations and Information, Commodore Edward Gabkwet, was on interdiction mission in support of the ground troops against Boko Haram terrorists when it suddenly disappeared.

The statement also told Nigerians that a search party had been raised to locate the missing air craft and its 2-man crew. The NAF Spokesman never hid anything about the missing aircraft from Nigerians and indeed providing periodic updates on the efforts to locate it.

Read Also:

  • Customs, CDCFIB Forge Partnership to Boost National Security
  • General Musa Rallies African Defence Chiefs to Build Homegrown Security Solutions
  • Army Hands Over Fake Major to Police in Lagos

The already bewildered nation was however thrown into outright trepidation 48 hours later when a faction of Boko Haram terrorists released a video in which it claimed responsibility for the downing of the Alpha jet. It was too much of shocking news and serious concerns were genuinely raised by Nigerians as to whether the terrorists have now acquired the capability to shoot down air crafts. That will be unthinkable. The fears were palpable but justifiable considering the savagery and ruthlessness of the Boko Haram insurgents and what they can do to even civil air crafts if they possess such capability. Alas it was all propaganda!

Of course the epic propaganda did not last long as it was quickly debunked with clear evidence to the contrary, not only by the NAF spokesman but by a number of independent experts and security analysts from far and near who put a lie to the claims by the group. Just like in many occasions in the past when they manipulated the social media to misrepresent the fact and deceive Nigerians, this particular case has shown discerning members of the public that Boko Haram are mainly thriving on propaganda.

The truth of that missing Alpha jet is that it was never shot down by Boko Haram terrorists. They don’t have the capacity and that is as simple as that. All they did in that contrived clip was to video shop the downing of a Syrian Air Force aircraft and claimed it was the video of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha-Jet fighter aircraft that went missing!

It didn’t take experts much time to prove that anti-aircraft weapons which they possess cannot drop an alpha jet and that it must be a technical failure arising from poor visibility and bad weather that led to the crashing. According to the experts, not even MANPADS – Man portable air defense system- will bring down that NAF 475. The jet is a smart aircraft and the control system it uses is different from normal airplanes. The jet can do 360 degrees within seconds to dodge any missile. In fact, is any round of missiles is a second close, it could still swerve to dodge.

In fact, Hugo Kaaman, a Sweden-based counter-terrorism expert and independent open-source researcher with focus on the use of Suicide Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices, SVBIEDs, pointedly accused Boko Haram terrorists of taking a clip from a 2012 incident in Syria to claim responsibility for the NAF missing jet. In a tweet with video evidence, he said: “Boko Haram just released a video claiming it shows a NAF jet shot down by the group. Looking at the video, it appears as if the jet explodes mid-air. However, this is not true. BH took a 2012 video showing a SyAAF helicopter exploding mid-air over Idlib and superimposed it.

“Just to be clear, the jet really crashed. It’s unclear whether this was due to hostile fire or technical issues. The wreckage can be seen in the same Boko Haram video. This video merely highlights Boko Haram’s fake footage of the shootdown itself”. The researcher provided video evidence with comparison showing the section depicting a Syaaf helicopter exploding mid-air after being hit by anti-aircraft fire over Idlib city in Syria in late 2012 with the fake video of Boko in March 2021.

The lesson from this incident is that Nigerians must see through the propaganda enterprise of this blood-thirsty group and always take them with a pinch of salt.

Chidi Omeje is the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Nigeria Security Digest

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • Boko Haram
  • NAF 475
  • Nigerian Military
Previous articleNortherners will no Longer Tolerate any Aggression by Southerners- Zamfara Gov
Next articleFCT Police Nab Kidnap Suspects who Invaded Lawyer’s House
Chidi Omeje
Chidi Omeje
http://www.PRNigeria.com

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Customs, CDCFIB Forge Partnership to Boost National Security

General Musa Rallies African Defence Chiefs to Build Homegrown Security Solutions

Army Hands Over Fake Major to Police in Lagos

African Security: Nigeria Leads from the Front By Edward Gabkwet

NDLEA Logo

Drug Kingpin, 5 Others Arrested as NDLEA Moves to Clear Innocent Pilgrims Detained in Saudi Arabia 

Military Troops in Action

Troops Repel Bandits Attack in Katsina, Rescue Abductees in Kogi

Prof ibrahim gambari Chief of Staff

Over 1,000 Terror Groups Threaten Africa’s Stability – UN Envoy

Police Officer

Police Repel Bandit Attack, Arrest Child Trafficker, Rescue 11 Victims in Benue

AbdulRazaq visits Babanla, other communities as new security deployments boost public safety

NDLEA Arrest Widow Using Fake Pregnancy to Traffic Cocaine, Destroy Skunk in Edo, Taraba, Ondo, Delta

Customs College Graduates 50 Officers, Urges Innovation, Discipline

Kano Police Transfer 23 Officers Amid Probe into Alleged Corruption at Sheka Division

Recent Posts

  • Customs, CDCFIB Forge Partnership to Boost National Security
  • General Musa Rallies African Defence Chiefs to Build Homegrown Security Solutions
  • Army Hands Over Fake Major to Police in Lagos
  • African Security: Nigeria Leads from the Front By Edward Gabkwet
  • Trade Facilitation: Nigeria Customs, NACCIMA Strengthen Partnership
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
Customs, CDCFIB Forge Partnership to Boost National SecurityGeneral Musa Rallies African Defence Chiefs to Build Homegrown Security SolutionsArmy Hands Over Fake Major to Police in LagosAfrican Security: Nigeria Leads from the Front By Edward GabkwetTrade Facilitation: Nigeria Customs, NACCIMA Strengthen PartnershipDrug Kingpin, 5 Others Arrested as NDLEA Moves to Clear Innocent Pilgrims Detained in Saudi Arabia Troops Repel Bandits Attack in Katsina, Rescue Abductees in KogiOver 1,000 Terror Groups Threaten Africa’s Stability - UN EnvoyPolice Repel Bandit Attack, Arrest Child Trafficker, Rescue 11 Victims in BenueAbdulRazaq visits Babanla, other communities as new security deployments boost public safetySenator Shehu Buba Condoles with APC National Chairman over Mother's DeathNDLEA Arrest Widow Using Fake Pregnancy to Traffic Cocaine, Destroy Skunk in Edo, Taraba, Ondo, DeltaCustoms College Graduates 50 Officers, Urges Innovation, DisciplineKano Police Transfer 23 Officers Amid Probe into Alleged Corruption at Sheka DivisionPolice Repatriate Wanted Chinese Fugitive
X whatsapp