Nigerian Air Force Helicopter Attack Kills Two In Niger State Community
By: Abudu Olalekan
Two killed in suspected Nigerian Air Force helicopter attack on Niger State community — villagers say chopper fired without warning
It came outta nowhere.
Sunday afternoon. Sun high. Kids playing near the stream. Women pounding yam. Men fixing roofs. Normal stuff. Then — whump-whump-whump. That sound. You know the one. Helicopter blades. Too low. Too slow. Hovering like it’s deciding something.
Then — pop-pop-pop.
Gunfire.
From the sky.
Two dead. Several bleeding. Women screaming. Children running barefoot through dust, not knowing where to go. Just away.
This ain’t Boko Haram territory. This ain’t bandit country. This is Kurgi — sleepy village in Mariga LGA, Niger State. Quiet place. Until Sunday.
Locals told Reportersroom — yeah, we’re calling it short now — that the chopper? Looked military. Sounded military. Probably Nigerian Air Force. Nobody’s confirmed yet. But who else flies gunships over farmland at 3pm on a Sunday?
Eyewitnesses said it circled. Like it was watching. Then opened fire. On civilians. No warning. No sirens. No “get down!” Just bullets raining where there was laughter five minutes before.
Sulaiman Sanusi — local guy, father, farmer — called it “shocking and unprovoked.” Understatement of the year. “We weren’t protesting,” he said. “We weren’t hiding insurgents. We were just… living.”
Kids got grazed. Women hit in the legs. One man — gone. Just like that. Another? Died later. From shock? From blood loss? Nobody knows. Nearest clinic’s an hour’s motorbike ride. And after chopper trauma? Good luck getting anyone to drive you.
Panic? Yeah. Whole village emptied. People ran to Bangi town — next community over. Sleeping under trees now. Scared to go back. Scared the sky might shoot again.
And the Air Force?
Silent.
No statement. No press release. No “we regret the incident” or “investigation underway.” Nothing. Radio silence. Which, honestly? Makes it worse.
You can’t bomb your own people and then ghost them.
Folks are asking questions:
— Was it a mistake?
— Did someone give wrong coordinates?
— Was intel bad?
— Or… was this intentional?
Nobody knows. And that’s the problem.
In war zones? Maybe. Tragic, but maybe explainable. But Kurgi? Cornfields. Goats. Primary school with peeling paint. What threat did they pose?
Sanusi’s plea? Simple: “Investigate. Fast. Help the wounded. Tell us why.”
Basic stuff. Human stuff.
But so far? Crickets.
Meanwhile, families bury their dead. Quietly. No fanfare. No flag-draped coffins. Just grief. And fear. And unanswered questions hanging heavier than smoke after gunfire.
This shouldn’t happen. Not here. Not like this.
If the Air Force was involved — own up. Apologize. Compensate. Fix the system that let this happen.
If it wasn’t them? Say so. Loud. Clear. Now.
Villagers don’t need theories. They need truth. They need justice. They need to feel safe looking up at the sky again.
Until then? Every distant engine sound sends hearts racing. Every shadow overhead? Panic.
That’s no way to live.
