The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has launched a search and rescue party for the missing Alpha-Jet whose whereabouts were unknown as at Thursday night.

The two-man jet lost contact with radar around 5:08 pm on 31 March 2021in Borno State while on interdiction mission in support of ground troops in the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the Northeast.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has visited Borno State, where he was briefed about the missing aircraft.

Speaking exclusively with The Nation, the Director of Public Relations and Information Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, dismissed insinuations the jet was gunned down by terrorists, insisting NAF does not have any information on the missing aircraft.

According to him: “Rescue and search mission have started and whatever we found out will be made public. So we should discountenance with all the insinuations”.