Boko Haram on military uniform, difficult to apprehend – Nigerian Air Chief

NIGERIA

The Nigerian Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has said Boko Haram terrorists disguise in military uniform making it difficult to apprehend them.

This method gives them the leverage to attack the civilian populace and even the military, the Nigerian Air boss added. 

Abubakar who spoke while delivering a lecture on a topic titled “the role of Nigerian Air Force in contemporary security challenges”, also said it is incontrovertible that the Nigerian Air Force, as the custodian of combat air operations in Nigeria, is operating in a predominantly asymmetric environment, saying that this is evident in the nature of conflicts and security threats that the Service and indeed the Armed Forces are currently battling in the country.

Delivering the Lecture at the prestigious University of Jos, located in north central Nigeria, the Chief of Air Staff said: “The absence of a dress code for insurgents is yet another feature, which characterizes the asymmetry in Nigerian air operations environment.

“As members of the armed forces, our uniforms and insignias easily set us apart from the rest of the population. On the contrary, our adversaries (the insurgents), generally have no distinguishing dress code and could be the bystander next to you.

“The implication is that military personnel could come under attack from seemingly innocent crowds, whom the personnel may be trying to protect.

“For aircrew, there is the dilemma of isolating the insurgents from the innocent citizens, while airborne.

“There were several cases in the north eastern Nigeria, where we flew our Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft over suspected Boko Haram infested locations, but had difficulties distinguishing them from the populace, with whom they have perfectly integrated and blended”, he said.

The lecture which over viewed the nature of insurgents in the country revealed that the threats faced in Nigeria range from the Boko Haram insurgency/terrorism in the north east to the criminal activities of pipeline vandals, crude oil thieves, sea robbers and militants in the south.

“The nation is also facing increasing threats from kidnappers, cattle rustlers and militarised herdsmen, who are causing widespread insecurity across the country.

“These security threats all have a commonality of features, which bear the hallmark of asymmetric warfare, as they are often conducted in settlements or built up areas with poorly defined or non-existent combat zones.

However expatiating on insurgents wearing military uniform, Abubakar added that “this calls for extreme caution and restraint on the part of military personnel, in order to minimize collateral damage and possible alienation by the populace.  

“However, urban environments provide very good concealment and opportunities for ambushes and booby traps.

“For instance, the insurgency in the North East involves operations inside Maiduguri and other towns/villages which makes progress really slow and painstaking. Such operating environments place significant stress on participating troops, including aircrew.

“This is particularly true of helicopter crew, who operate at low speeds and altitudes, sometimes into highly vulnerable locations.

“Additionally, as far as the insurgents are concerned, anything in the air is a legitimate target and would be engaged, since the insurgents generally do not have air assets. Hence the aircrew, while enjoying air superiority by default, is constantly exercising maximum caution as the whole operational area could be hostile.

“The more dissimilar the adversary is, the more difficult it is to understand and predict his actions. When faced with these challenges, our actions must be based on our understanding of the asymmetric warfare environment, in order for us to be proactive and be steps ahead of the adversary.

“Otherwise, whenever we are surprised with an ingenious attack or capability, our response would always be reactive, adhoc and less effective”, the Air Chief said.