Aftermath of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that “We have given security forces full freedom to deal with, and bring to end this madness of terrorisism & banditry”, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao has charged Nigerian Air Force (NAF) operational Commanders in the various theatres of operation across the country to ‘show no mercy’ and ensure they employ maximum firepower against terrorists posing security threats in the country.
Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Air Commodor Gabkwet disclosed that, while commending NAF personnel for their efforts as well as the improved synergy with sister Services and other security agencies, Air Marshal Amao also underscored the need for effective allocation and utilization of all NAF platforms deployed for operations in the Northwest and Northcentral for enhanced operational effectiveness.
The CAS said, “Doing so will deny the terrorists freedom of movement while boosting the confidence of the populace and ensuring a peaceful country.
The CAS made the assertions when he met with frontline Air Officers Commanding (AOC) and Air Component Commanders (ACCs) at the NAF Base on Tuesday in Kaduna.
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Furthermore, the CAS noted that though the security environment remains fluid and uncertain with terrorists moving between the northeast, northwest and north central, the need to continually modify NAF’s air power strategies to stay ahead of the asymmetric and unconventional nature of terrorists’ activities is of paramount importance.
‘We have a responsibility to secure our nation and give our citizens a sense of hope, trust and belonging. Therefore, we must ensure that we stay ahead of the enemy and envisage his next line of action” he said.
Air Marshal Amao then assured the troops that training of more combat pilots, imagery analysts and other specialties in the NAF would continue to be of utmost priority so as to address the manpower challenges within the operation areas.
He went on to state that efforts were at advanced stage to procure more combat platforms for the NAF to meet the ever-increasing demands of air assets in various theatres of operations across the nation.
Other issues addressed during the interface included the need to ensure speedy procurement circle of aircraft spares to minimise aircraft down-time amongst other issues.
Recall that the chairman, Senate Committee on Nigerian Air Force, Sen. Bala Ibn Na’Allah, last Sunday commended the Nigerian Air Force for its effective deployment of the Super Tucano jets and the success recorded so far in combating the current security challenges in the country.
He urged the Nigerian Air Force to sustain the good work to gain more ground in their efforts to rid the country of the lingering security challenges.
Sen. Bala Ibn Na’Allah described the decision to acquire those platforms as one of the wisest taken by the federal government in terms of savings and operational flexibility.
He advised the federal government to consider increasing their number in order to significantly cut down the cost of running the Air Force.
