‘We ‘ll completely decimate bandits’, NAF boss vows after Niger crash
By Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Nigeria’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, has vowed that the military would completely decimate bandits ravaging Niger State and other parts of the country.
He made the vow during in the aftermath of the crash of a helicopter belonging to the Nigeria Air Force, NAF, in Niger State on Monday.
The cause of the crash is yet to be established but the aircraft was on evacuation mission when the incident occured.
Some troops had been ambushed by bandits in the area, resulting into the loss of unspecified number of soldiers.
The military has refused to give casualty figures but only acknowledged the loss of some troops.
President Bola Tinubu, has also condoled with the families of the fallen heroes.
The Chief of Air Force who spoke when Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, paid him condolence visit in Abuja, vowed that with the collaboration of the ground force the military would deal brutally with the criminals behind the insurgency in the North.
“As you are aware that Niger State and other states in this region are plagued by the menace of banditry, insurgency, and others, these challenges have continued to threaten the peace and security and well-being of the people. I want to assure you that the Nigerian Air Force and the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain committed, dedicated, and undaunted in our efforts at eradicating these security challenges being perpetrated by these non-state actors.
“Our approach now is to intensify our activities in tandem with the land forces to completely eradicate these criminal elements with our combat capabilities. Also, I believe that my philosophy which is to transform the air force into an agile force capable of meeting all the air power demands of our national security in all operational environments. ”
The Air chief, however, noted that crash was one of the challenges associated with flying.
“Despite the efforts we have put in, we have a couple of issues one of them is the air crash. The fact is that as long as we fly aircraft, there would be incidents of accidents.
“The volume of incidents and accidents is directly proportional to the operations. On our part, we are not folding our arms even with the challenges. The ideal is to strive for zero incidents and accidents in any operational environment. We are putting a lot of initiatives in place to check this.”
Abubakar further noted the challenge posed by weather conditions.
“We have other seasonal challenges. The rains have come and there is a cloud, this hampers what we can see as well as our strike capabilities. Likewise, when the harmattan comes, it also has effects on our operations. These are challenges we live in. We hope that sometimes you understand when our operations are hampered or impeded by some of these challenges.”
In his speech, Gov. Bago, pleaded with the Air Chief to deploy more troops and fighter jets to the state.
The Governor who decried the menace of bandits in the state called on the military to rise to the occasion.
He requested for more military equipment around the state for quick response to threats.
“I have come here to say Minna airport was created as a backup for Abuja airport and we have the longest runways in Nigeria. We’re calling on you to please send some detachments and some fighter planes to Minna so that we can have more rapid responses when they are very close instead of flying from either Kainji or Kaduna.
“Let me at this juncture say thank you for giving us this time, and say that the Niger State government will support you anywhere you are. We are happy with what you’re doing and we’re behind you and we will support you.
“Our people have also asked me to tell you that we can give you accommodation if you can bring people. We will provide accommodation that is very close to the airport in Minna to come and stay in Minna because we need your protection.”
The Governor condoled with the Air Force over the crash, urging the military not to be discouraged.
“We also sympathise with the Nigerian military over the losses recorded in the ambush that happened in Wushishi which eventually brought about the evacuation by your chopper that crashed.
