Chief of Air Staff foresees end to insurgency, banditry

Few days after the terrorists of Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP killed a senior Army officer and four soldiers in Askira Uba, Borno State, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Isiaka Oladayo Amao, has assured Nigerians that the activities of insurgents and bandits, would soon be over in the country.

This is as the Senate through its Committee on Air Force, tasked the military generally to intensify its onslaughts against insurgents and bandits for the required peace and development in the affected areas.

Air Marshall Amao, who gave the assurance on Tuesday during 2022 budget defence before the committee, said the insurgents of whatever faction, whether Boko Haram or ISWAP, have been devastatingly decimated and degraded with attendant loss of fighters and weapons which on weekly basis making many of them to surrender voluntarily.

He said: “Required onslaughts tactically and strategically are already mapped out to rout out the remnants of the insurgents attacking villages and military outposts in pretence of still being potent.

“In line with the core mandate of the Air Force and military generally, the territorial integrity of Nigeria is being protected from against the insurgents and bandits who in no distant time , will be completely wiped out.”

He added that as the 2021 budgetary allocations given the Air Force was judiciously used in prosecuting the war against the insurgents and bandits as well as improving the welfare of officers and men, the 2022 allocations will also be expended judiciously for similar purposes.

“In the face of challenges at hand, prudency and accountability have been the guiding principle of implementation of budgetary allocations by the Nigeria Air Force,” he said.

In his remarks before the session went into closed door, chairman of the committee, Senator Bala Ibn Na’ Allah (APC Kebbi South), tasked the military outfit to use all the resources within its disposal in routing out the remnants of the insurgents in particular and make the forests inhabitable for bandits, kidnappers and all forms of criminals.

“The Air Force and by extension, the military generally, deserved commendation from Nigerians as far as war against insurgency and banditry are concerned but Nigerians want these enemies of the Nation to be completely defeated as soon as possible.

“For us on this committee and in the National Assembly, required appropriations in terms of procurement of weapons, armaments and enhancement of welfare of officers and men in the military, shall be made since essence of governance itself is security and welfare of citizenry,” he said.

Terrorists of the ISWAP group had on Saturday in Askira – Uba ambushed and killed Brigadier General Dzarma Zirkusu and three soldiers, aside a soldier earlier killed on Friday by them within the same radius.