Bandits in Nigeria have shot down an air force plane in a rare case of a military jet being brought down by a criminal gang in the country.

The pilot had finished a raid against kidnappers when he came under intense fire, the Nigerian Air Force said.

Flight Lt Abayomi Dairo ejected and used “survival instincts” to avoid capture and find shelter, before rejoining his comrades.

The attack happened on the border of the northern Zamfara and Kaduna states.

Armed gangs – referred to locally as “bandits” – have been blamed for a spate of recent kidnappings in this part of north-western Ni