The Niger State Governor has asked the Chief of the Air Staff to deploy more fighter aircraft to the state to fight terrorism.
Umar Bago made the appeal during a condolence visit to the Chief of Air Staff in Abuja.
A moment of silence in honour of the souls of the troops that died in the Mi 171 Helicopter crash as well as those that paid the supreme price fighting terrorists in Niger State.
At least 21 military troops and vigilantes paid the supreme price fighting bandits in attacks that occured on Sunday and Monday in Zungeru in the Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger state.
30 of the bandits also died.
Tragedy struck later on Monday, when the air force helicopter that evacuated the casualties crashed in the mountains of Shiroro.
The state governor who is pained by the loss of troops, wants the air force to scale up its operations in the state.
Niger State has become a haven for bandits and terrorists who also engage in cattle rustling.
The Governor attributes this to the activities of illegal miners.
The state has large deposits of lithium and gold.
According to a report by Nigeria’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Niger state tops the list of states with illegal mining activities.
While the authorities are scaling up efforts to curb the incidents, the death of the troops is a sad reminder of the price they sometimes have to pay.
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