Air Force Partners Police In Curbing Kidnapping, Armed Banditry
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The Nigerian Air Force says it will partner with the police and other security agencies in addressing the spate of kidnapping, armed banditry in the country.
In a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Ibikunle Daramola, NAF said its air assets will be deployed in the affected areas prone to such security challenges.
“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has reiterated its commitment to support the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies with real-time geospatial and imagery intelligence whilst making available its air assets for the conduct of tactical air support missions and increasing the frequency of air reconnaissance in the affected areas,” the statement read in part.
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The development comes 24 hours after the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi visited the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar.
According to Daramola, the police and DSS bosses were taken around the “facilities at the newly established, state-of-the-art Geospatial-Intelligence Data Centre (GIDC) and Strategic Air Operations Centre (SAOC).”
In his response, the IGP expressed worry over the recent cases of kidnapping and armed banditry, especially along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway and other parts of the country including Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, and Kogi States.
He noted that the visit was to explore possibilities of using NAF air assets and the products of the GIDC to improve the effectiveness of operations in addressing the challenges.
“I felt that as a security agency, we need to synergize with other security outfits. We don’t have the air capability, but the NAF has them. With this we can have a joint operation to deal with this security issue,” he stated.
While thanking the CAS for making NAF air assets available for the operation, the IGP congratulated him for deploying the equipment to other security agencies to enhance internal security operation.