The Nigerian Air Force, on Sunday, in Lagos, said it had incorporated some new systems and ammunition aimed at the continuous fight against insurgency in the country.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, made the disclosure while speaking with journalists at the National Air Defence Corps in Ikeja. Amosu said the new systems and ammunition were currently being tested in Lagos to bring additional capabilities to the ongoing fight against insurgency in the North-East. “We are incorporating some new systems and ammunition to the platforms we have. “We also need to intensify the day and night operations and we are here essentially to kick off the operations,’’ he said.
Amosu urged the citizens not to panic, as occasionally, there might be gun fires and ammunition being delivered, adding that the Air Force had been on air, notifying the public accordingly. “’We have been notifying the public that there is an ongoing operation to re-calibrate our weapon system and to fine-tune our tactics,’’ he said.
Amosu also said the operation was an opportunity to take a look at the maritime environment, adding that challenges were not only in the North-East but also in the maritime environment. “We have some new ammunition to test and the range here in Owode, Lagos, is the most ideal for this operations, so, we have to make use of the facility. “’Everything that the nation has in terms of land space, equipment and capabilities must be brought to fight insurgency, terrorism and to take care of emerging threats all over the country,’’ he said.
Amosu, however, said the Air Force was not in the operations alone, adding that the Nigerian Navy and the Army were also part of the operations. “All the various leadership of the forces are here to ensure that these operations are carried out successfully,’’ he said. He noted that fighting insurgency and terrorism was not an easy task, saying however, that there were well trained military men to fight and conquer insurgency. “Although, we are aware of the variables which may not be disclosed, that could prevent an operation from being completed in a spade of time. “But we are satisfied with the period allocated to us now and we should be able to carry out the exercise within the period. “I am optimistic that, capability wise, we are good to go and the six weeks is more than adequate,’’ he said.
He said that there were collaborations from the French forces from Chad, Niger and Cameroon, adding that there had been support even before now which was still ongoing. “’Don’t forget that we have capable armed forces that should do the fighting but then, these days, worldwide, you hardly fight alone,’’ he said.
On the coming general election, Amosun said the Air Force would also play its role by moving materials from major locations like Abuja and Lagos to other areas where you have airports. “We have biscraft aircraft when it comes to some maritime areas and some difficult areas to penetrate. “’We have also deployed our soldiers to mount the unmanned airfields so that they can have materials and prevent the bad ones attempting to bring in bad materials to mess up the election,’’ he said.
Amosun thanked the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Goodluck Jonathan, for his support because he is the reason why we can achieve all these.
