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| Air Marshal Abubakar |
Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar yesterday described as “technically deficient” the Boko Haram video showing how some of the abducted 215 Chibok girls were killed in aerial bombings.
Air Marshal Abubakar said the military had not given up on its search for the girls, adding that the Air Force has flown for about 2,600 hours between January and August 17.
The Air Force, he said, plans to acquire Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) equipment, which can be airborne for 33 hours with sophisticated cameras.
The Air Force chief said planes had been deployed in the Niger Delta in readiness for an operation which will begin “very shortly”, but the planes will not bomb the region. They will protect oil and gas infrastructure and the people.
Air Marshal Abubakar, who spoke with reporters at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja, said “all of us are passionate about the Chibok girls, we want to set them free from the insurgents,” adding:
“As for the latest video clip by the insurgents, this is cheap propaganda. Even the IED that they developed, have you ever seen a complete body together after an explosion on any location
“Even the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), the crudest form of bomb, you put there and sometimes you go there, you don’t see anything after an explosion not to talk of a 250kg bomb. What they used in the IED, how many kilogrammes are we talking about? It is insignificant.
“Someone even told me: ‘I saw one of the girls moving her head.’ I said , well I didn’t see that. What I can tell you is that just looking at the way they did it (the video clip), it could not have been something after an airstrike. If you drop a bomb, there is a crater, where is the crater?
“If you drop a bomb, within certain meters of the point of impact, everybody there will be gone and will be shredded in most cases, depending on the type of bomb, where it is dropped and the kind of configuration you used to do the bombing.
“But if you now neatly arrange people and said these people were killed by air strikes, it does not make sense at all. Let people ask themselves. They have seen IED explosions, have they ever seen live bodies kept intact together. “
Air Marshal Abubakar said the video clip was to whip up sentiments, stating: “Why? It is because they know that every Nigerian is concerned about these Chibok girls. I have daughters and sometimes when I look at my daughters, I remember those girls.. You understand.
“There is no day that the sun rises and sets that we don’t go out hoping to see these girls.
“Why do we do that? First, we were hoping that through intelligence, we might be able to capture the movement of those girls. Maybe through that Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), we will be able to locate what we consider ‘legitimate targets’.
“Somebody asked of collateral damage. There is no military operation without collateral damage. Even in the most advanced countries of the world, sometimes you find collateral damage. We are not saying that everything is perfect, what we are saying is that we are taking every step humanly possible within available resources, to ensure that we have a clear understanding of the battle space and we are able to determine the legitimate targets to be attacked.
“We don’t go out specifically to attack civilians. Like I said counter-insurgency is about winning hearts and minds. The thing at the back of our heads is that make sure, as much as possible, you look out for the criminals. How do you do that? Use your ISR platforms.
“And we thank God, with the coming of the present administration, the situation has improved. In the past we used to have two ISR platforms but now we have about five. And very soon, we are going to acquire one that can remain airborne for 33 hours with cameras looking everywhere. So, you cannot escape. That is why I keep telling these criminals, the time for you to escape is almost over.
“So, for the girls, definitely it has nothing to do with air strikes. After an air strike, you will not see anything like the way they displayed. Maybe because the insurgents are used to fighting on land, they don’t know air battle. They think they can drop anything and it will make sense. No.”
Pressed further on the situation in Sambisa Forest, Air Marshal Abubakar said: “The forest alone is about 60,000 square kilometres. You can see the difficulty that is involved in making sure that you cover every square inch of that forest.
“ It extends even into Cameroon. That was why sometimes in the past the insurgents do whatever and sneaked into Cameroon. But now Cameroon has been hot for them and they are coming back.
“We still fly over Sambisa Forest on regular basis but there are issues with the terrain. The terrain is difficult for land forces. You can discuss that with the Chief of Army Staff. For us in the Air Force, we are not limited by the terrain. We simply fly over and see what is happening.
“But I can tell you that Sambisa Forest is substantially deserted. From what we have been seeing from our ISR pictures, it is extremely difficult to say the place can be occupied especially now. What we are targeting, God willing, is that at the end of the rainy season it will be much easier for these equipment to move in.
“I believe that towards the end of the year, during dry season, it will be much easier to move in substantially. The problem is that water collects in the forest.”
Asked if there is any intelligence report that the girls are in Sambisa Forest, he said: “Honestly, we don’t . That is the truth of the matter.
“Even if you see women in Sambisa Forest that are dressed in hijab, how are you sure they are women and not men? The insurgents can lure you into coming in thinking that the girls are there and it is only when you get there that they remove their hijab and you will see that they are men with their rifles. And that is one of the tricks of war. They want to remain alive and they want to kill you.
“So, there is no credible intelligence that will specifically tell you that these girls are here. All of us are passionate about these girls, on daily basis, we search for them. We are working, I believe we will get there one day.”
The air force chief said the Air Force was trying to manufacture Nigerian made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), otherwise called drones.
He said: “We will get there one day. We have started by developing the Nigerian-made UAV. The whole design, including engineering was done by Nigerians, no foreign intervention. We also recognised that to put together these ideas, you need machines and these machines might not be available.
“Right now, we have a team training in the United States (U.S.) on aircraft manufacturing. They have been there since last year. It is something that will take some time but at least, we are building capacity. But for now, the main focus now is to operationalize the UAV. We have been using the Chinese UAV, the CH3, and we are also getting the additional one that will help us in our fight.”
Responding to a question, Air Marshal Abubakar said planes being deployed in the Niger Delta would protect lives and oil and gas infrastructure, adding that the mission is “not to bomb Niger Delta”.
He said: “The issue of Southsouth operation. The talks, negotiations, meetings and so on are political issues; I am not competent to really express an opinion on that.
“But what I can tell you is that our mandate, by the constitution, is to ensure that we protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria and ensure that the Nigerian people are able to go about pursuing their legitimate aspirations and goals without any hindrance.
“On what we are doing in the Southsouth, we already have airplanes in the Southsouth that is supporting the operation which the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) is handling.
“What we are doing is to give protection, as much as possible, to oil and gas infrastructure and to also protect the communities. On whether we are going to start bombing Niger Delta, no. we are not going to bomb Niger Delta but we are going to protect Niger Delta people and the oil and gas infrastructure as much as possible. When are we starting? Very shortly, we are just planning, very shortly.”
On porous borders in the Northwest and Northeast, Air Marshal Abubakar said the Air Force was looking into it with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
“I agree with you that the Northwest and the Northeast are a very large area. We have been discussing with the Nigerian Immigration Service. The Comptroller of Immigration Service came and we discussed the issue of how we can protect our borders.
If we are able to actualise our UAV programme, we have the means to produce as many as we want. Once we have many, we will be able to assist as many agencies as possible.
“It is just the prioritsation that matters. We want to acquire Super Tucano aircraft to replace the Alpha Jets. The plan has been there but since we don’t produce the aircraft, we cannot talk of timeline. But now, we have to make the best use of what is available. That you have money does not mean you must go to a shop to buy aircraft. Those who will sell must be willing to sell to you too.”
