As Nigeria battles a fresh wave of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacks in the North East, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar has warned that military action alone, including bombing terrorist targets in Nigeria, cannot resolve the country’s deep-rooted insecurity. He made this known in an exclusive interview with Saturday Vanguard during the 61st anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), where he highlighted the resurgence of terror, rising drone threats, and the need for joint, holistic responses.
THE NATION DIGEST NEWS gathered that in recent weeks, multiple communities in Borno and Yobe states have come under attack by insurgents. Some of the assaults even targeted military bases, resulting in casualties among troops and loss of weapons. Drones were reportedly used in some of these operations by the terrorists, raising alarm about the evolving tactics of insurgents.
Air Marshal Abubakar explained that despite periods of calm, insurgency is a complex and cyclical challenge. “Sometime in 2023, many terrorists surrendered, and we thought we had achieved relative calm in the North East. But insurgency doesn’t go away permanently with just one approach,” he said. He attributed the resurgence to a shift in security focus from the North East to the North West, where banditry was on the rise.
He stressed that while bombing terrorist targets in Nigeria remains necessary in military operations, it addresses only a fraction of the broader problem. “Security forces can only solve about 25 to 30 per cent of the insurgency. The remaining 70 to 75 per cent lies in addressing root causes like poverty, unemployment, and lack of education,” he stated.
The Air Chief emphasized the importance of a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to tackling insecurity. “Even if the military succeeds in clearing terrorists, without addressing the socio-economic causes, the gains will eventually be eroded,” he warned. “That is what we’re seeing today.”
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He revealed that NAF has deepened civil-military relations by engaging communities through free medical outreach, educational support, and infrastructure projects. “We are collaborating more with state governors and stakeholders to reinforce peacebuilding efforts,” he added.
On the financial cost of operations, Air Marshal Abubakar disclosed the staggering expenses involved in air campaigns. “For instance, a Chinese unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) we use carries a missile costing $150,000 and a bomb costing about $96,000. That’s just for one mission. Add the cost of flying, fuel, maintenance, and manpower, and you’re easily spending $10,000 to $30,000 per sortie,” he explained.
He said this raises a serious dilemma: “You see 10 to 20 terrorists and you’re thinking about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bombing terrorist targets in Nigeria is expensive and must be strategic.”
On the question of drone warfare, he acknowledged that terrorists are now using modified commercial drones to launch attacks. “This operational environment is evolving rapidly. To counter this, we must invest in new technologies and partnerships,” he said. The Air Force, he added, has signed an MoU with the University of Bradford to strengthen its use of artificial intelligence in intelligence and combat operations.
While radar coverage has improved through the civilian aviation network, Abubakar noted that military-grade radar, which could detect low-flying objects like drones nationwide, is still lacking. “This would provide Nigeria with the ability to detect, challenge, and engage any unauthorized aircraft at all levels. We are pushing for this to be implemented,” he said.
To mitigate current vulnerabilities, the NAF has deployed smaller anti-drone systems in key operational areas and is working with the Army to integrate those systems into their facilities.
On whether air support can be scrambled quickly during attacks like the recent one in Marte, Borno State, Abubakar pointed to significant progress in inter-agency synergy. He cited the creation of an Air-Ground Integration School to train officers from the Army and other services in flight operations and coordination.
However, he admitted more needed to be done. “While we’ve improved, full seamless integration is still a work in progress,” he said.
Responding to a question on manpower, the Air Chief explained that recruitment into the Air Force goes beyond numbers. “We must consider training, accommodation, equipment, and administrative support. We’re building capacity but doing it strategically to avoid future inefficiencies.”
He cautioned Nigerians against expecting military action alone to solve insurgency. Bombing terrorist targets in Nigeria, he said, must be matched with meaningful development and governance reforms. “If we continue to rely solely on firepower without fixing the economic and social issues that breed insecurity, we will keep fighting the same battles over and over.”
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