As Nigeria continue to battle rising cases of banditry especially in the North Central part of the country, the Chief of the Air Staff CAS, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has assured that the Nigerian Force will sustain the aerial onslaught against armed bandits.
He also assured that Air Force will continue to provide adequate support to sister services and other security agencies to ensure the success of ongoing anti-banditry operations aimed at restoring peace to troubled parts of the Northwest and North Central States.
Air Marshal Abubakar made this disclosure while on an operational visit to NAF Base Kaduna, where he received operational briefings from the Air Officer Commanding Air Training Command AOC ATC, Air Vice Marshal Musa Mukhtar, as well as Air Component Commanders of various Joint Operations in the Northwest and North Central theatres.
The CAS also disclosed that he was in Kaduna to assess the progress of ongoing anti-banditry operations in the affected States with a view to ascertaining areas of challenge in order to quickly address them to forestall gaps in the planning and execution of both air interdiction and close air support missions.
He expressed satisfaction with the briefing he had received, highlighting that successes had been recorded in air strikes against armed bandits’ camps whilst appreciable level of support had been provided to ground operations.
“Our aim is to ensure that these bandits find no breathing space anywhere, whether in Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger or indeed any other State in the area. We shall ensure that we deal decisively with them so that the inhabitants are able to return to their farms and engage in their farming activities as well as pursue other legitimate aspirations without fear”, he added.
Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola in a statement said the CAS earlier inspected the Super Mushshak and Diamond DA-40 trainer aircraft fleets as well as support facilities at the 401 Flying Training School (401 FTS) and 431 Engineering Group.
Daramola said that similar operational visits are planned for the coming days to assess the NAF’s support for joint operations in Sokoto and Zamfara States under Operation Hadarin Daji, Lagos and the South West Zone under Operation Awatse, States in the South South under Operation Delta Safe as well as Benue and other States under the coverage of Operation Whirl Stroke.
