Sunday Clement, Yola
To stop cases of insurgency in the North-East, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has promised to carry out air strikes and surveillance in its offensive operations against Boko Haram.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex S. Badeh, told newsmen in Yola on Monday that Air Force was ready to do everything “to achieve the mission as directed by the Commander-In-Chief (C-In-C) of the Armed Forces, President Goodluck Jonathan during and after the emergency rule”.
Air Marshal Badeh added that the Air Force would also go extra miles to assert Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by crushing the insurgents.
He said: “Whatever it will take to achieve the mission will be done with air strike inclusive. We will carry out border surveillance and even air strike.
“Everything and everybody needed for the mission are being mobilised, men, material and other resources. We will do anything to achieve the mission,” Badeh said.
To him, terrorists have no hiding place again in the country.
“Recently, we raided some terrorist camps in the Sambista Game Reserve in Northern Borno. Our men did great job in Operation Boyona, our fighters have since cleared
Sambista Forest. Already, I submitted budget proposal or request for the purchase of helicopters used for border surveillance and patrols. It’s our hope that the National Assembly will approve it for speedy take off of the border air operations,’’ he noted.
Badeh was also emphatic that with the recent development of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for surveillance and intelligence gathering, a lot would be achieved in fighting terrorism, as the new device would greatly enhance the success of security agents in the fight against insurgency.
UAV is a robot capable of detecting and detonating bombs from a distance, and the equipment would reduce risks posed to bomb squad personnel.
