The fighter jet declared missing may have crashed, the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has said.
The position, it said, was based on intelligence report gathered by its surveillance aircraft, Special Forces, and ground troops.
A statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, stated that the cause of the crash and the whereabouts of the two pilots remained unknown.
According to Gabkwet, the pilots of the missing aircraft are Flt.-Lt. John Abolarinwa and Flt.- Lt. Ebiakpo Chapele.
Meanwhile, extensive search and rescue efforts were still ongoing by NAF surveillance aircraft as well as NAF Special Forces and Nigerian Army troops on ground.
He added that even at the point they were, NAF was not ruling out anything regarding the incident.
He, however, remained hopeful that the crew would soon be found and rescued.
NAF Alpha-Jet aircraft (NAF-475) went off the radar with two crew members on board on March 31.
Source: NAN
