The Nigerian Air Force on Wednesday assured
residents of Arepo in Ogun state of their safety
as it said its air operations against hiding
militants in the nearby creeks have been planed
with utmost care.
Air Force’s Director of Public Relations &
Information, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa,
said it has it has become necessary to allay the
fear of the people with a view to sustaining
public confidence and support for the ongoing
operations against pipeline-vandals.
The onslaught against vandals is codenamed
OPERATION AWATSE in the South West region
of the Country.
The statement noted, “the NAF wishes to
assure the general public, within the affected
areas, of their safety as the ongoing air
operation is carefully planned to avoid collateral
damage to the civil populace and property.
“The NAF is careful to ensure that only
legitimate targets, such as observation post,
anti-aircraft gun position, boats laden with
suspected stolen petroleum products and armed
combatants, are selected for strike. In aligning
with this global best practice, the NAF usually
undertakes surveillance flights before and after
each strike to mitigate incidental harm to
civilians and property.
“While pre-strike assessment missions are
undertaken to help identify and select legitimate
military targets for neutralisation, post-strike or
Battle Damage Assessment missions are meant
to ascertain whether the desired degree of
impact was achieved or not, and if a follow-up
re-attack is required. It may also be necessary
to state that NAF pilots are adequately trained,
and as professionals, would not engage in
human right violations and abuses.”
The NAF said an assessment of the five day old
operation shows that there have been what it
called “absolute professionalism by NAF pilots
involved in the operation as no single incident
of collateral damage has been recorded.”
The NAF also disclosed that it has collaborated
with the Nigerian Navy’s Special Boat Services
(SBS), to set on fire the hideouts and camps
used by the pipeline vandals in AREPO.
“As a result, Community leaders and members
of the public with useful information on the
whereabouts of the fleeing vandals and other
criminal elements are please requested to oblige
such information to the Security Agencies.
Furthermore, the civil populace is please
advised not to panic but to go about their
legitimate businesses,” it concluded