Stories by Musa Umar Bologi Abuja
Nigerian Air Force says it has deployed additional Specials Forces and personnel of Regiment Specialty to reinforce security and also fi ght alongside ground troops in the frontlines in North east. This is coming after the Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo gave an order to service chiefs to relocate to the North east in view of renewed terrorist attacks and abduction of some lecturers of University of Maiduguri on oil exploration mission in the Chad Basin by Boko Haram terrorists. “NAF has recently stepped up its counterinsurgency operations to further decimate the ability of Boko Haram terrorists in the North East,” says NAF spokesperson, Air Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, in a statement. “Th e focus has largely been the conduct of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions as well as interdiction missions on identifi ed terrorists targets. Th is is in addition to range of other air operations and humanitarian intervention schemes aimed at winning the heart and minds of the populace in the confl ict areas.”
He said NAF has also deployed thermal imaging cameras aimed at adding more value to the current eff orts at detecting and checkmating the activities of suicide bombers before they carry out their missions, adding that cameras mounted on the aircraft could penetrate obscurants, such as smoke, fog and hazeSimilarly deployments have also been made by the air force to other troubled areas, including Southern part of Kaduna state which has witnessed clashes between indigenes and herdsmen recently, leading to death of several people and destruction of property. The air force deployed armed helicopters with force protection elements and other logistics support to ensure enduring peace in the area.
Th e deployment of NAF personnel and platform, according to experts, is to complement the eff orts of the ground troops, which had been on ground since early this year when President Muhammadu Buhari directed the army to intervene in the internal security of the area. Before NAF deployments, the Nigerian Army which Special Forces had been in the area early this year, has also recently established a unit in the area to ensure quick deployment of personnel to stop any perceived threat to peace in the area. NAF personnel and other supporting staff will operate from a newly established NAF Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Kafanchan and will be reinforced with the NAF Special Forces to protect lives and property towards stopping the incessant clashes in the area, says NAF spokesperson. The air force had also recently deployed air assets and personnel to Takum, Taraba State to maintain peace and provide air cover for the ground troops in the Mambilla, which witness similar clash recently
