Kaduna attack: Military confirms 12 dead in latest attack

The Kaduna State government and the military authorities on Monday said bandits did not shutdown Kaduna International Airport as widely reported.

The military confirmed the bandits attack but said the scene was six kilometers away from the terminal and outside the Airport perimeter fence. According to the military, 12 of the bandits were killed through air strike.

Kaduna State commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, Garrison Command 1 Division of Nigerian Army, Brig-General Uriah Opuene and Air Force Base Commander, Air Commodore, Ademuyiwa Adedoyin, led journalists on an assessment tour of the attack scene.

Addressing journalists at the scene of the attack, Brig-Gen. Opuene said the Kaduna International Airport is very secured, adding that, there are several layers of security at the Airport and that bandits could not have dared to attack it.

He said preliminary investigations have revealed that the bandits were just passing through back of the Airport towards Riyawa village, when they sighted the security man engaged by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) on watch over their metrological equipment around the axis.

Brig-Gen.Opuene said, “As you can see, this place is about six kilometers away from the Airport terminal. The bandits were only passing behind the airport perimeter fence when they saw the security man engaged by NAMA and they fired at him. They just took advantage of that to pass a message that they have attacked the airport, not that they had the intention of attacking the Airport.

“There are several layers of security at the Airport, this is the first layer and even this first layer was not breached, because from the moment of hearing that shot, it took our men just about three minutes to get here from the next layer of security.
“On arrival, the bandits were already running away, so we engaged them through the use of ground forces. Then we called for an air strike and a helicopter was deployed and from the air report, about 12 of the bandits were killed. So, as you can see from the distance, the insinuation outside that, the terrorists took over the Airport is not correct. If the terrorists had entered, they would have met us there,” he said.