Air force raises the alarm, says ‘our bases under threat’

Sadique Abubakar, chief of air staff (CAS), says the nation’s air force bases are under threat of attacks.

Abubakar said this at the opening of base defence planning retreat in Kaduna on Thursday.

He also said officers and men of the force had been “placed on red alert” to prevent any attack.

“We have had an attack on one of our airbases in the recent past and current intelligence reports keep highlighting the possibility of attacks on our bases,” he said.

“Given the importance of bases in the airpower delivery matrix, it is not inconceivable to expect our adversaries to target our bases.

He added that evolving security environment globally had become complex and “most times unpredictable.”

Abubakar said these issues range from challenges of terrorism, militancy, kidnapping to economic sabotage.

“On the assumption of office and with the need to develop a robust base defence concept in view, we carried out a review of the then base defence concept,” he said.

“The conclusion was that the erstwhile base defence concept, with its emphasis on emplacing static guards at identified key and vulnerable points, was no longer tenable and sufficient to respond to our contemporary threats.

“Consequently, we introduced a new base defence concept. The new base defence concept is premised on the development and deployment of an air-minded ground defence force, trained and equipped as special light infantry and capable of operating both inside and outside the base perimeter against contemporary threats while leveraging on intelligence and available modern technology.

“However, recent evaluations of the bases reveal that many commanders and bases are still sold on the old concept and are yet to imbibe and adopt the tenets of the new base defence concept.” he said.

Abubakar said the British military assistant team (BMAT) was expected in the country to train 300 regiment personnel.

He said the training is so as to have “reliable and highly skilled personnel that can protect all NAF bases in the country.”