During his last visit to the new Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base at Umar Musa Yaradua Airport in Katsina, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, announced the deployment of 2 of its new advanced T-129 ATAK helicopters in support of the security operations in the region.
The 2 helicopters, plus 2 ALPHA JET, and 2 KING AIR will be employed under the NAF Air Component of Sector 2 in Operation FANSAN YAMMA. This domestic operation was recently established to counter criminal gangs in the northwest of Nigeria. Abubakar, also added to the media, that UAV have also been deployed and will operate from the same base, now designated by the government as NAF's 213 Forward Operating Base (FOB).
The new FOB fills a gap in the NAF organization which previously did not have a base capable of supporting aircraft in Nigeria's 4 northwestern states. The ATAK will significantly improve the capabilities of the government forces, in terms of firepower and sensors, in their military efforts against banditry and related insecurity in the region.
The Nigerian MoD highlighted those capabilities using strong statements to clarify the full-kinetic nature of the employment of these platforms “ensuring that no enemy can escape justice.” In accordance with his interview “they have been specifically deployed to combat bandits and other criminal elements that threaten the peace, stability, and prosperity of the Northwest region of Nigeria’’. A decisive support to the ground troops for conducting their final push for reducing bandits’ freedom of maneuver and bringing the entire area back to normality.
Only a couple of weeks ago, the Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmed the emergence of a new insurgent group known as "Lukarawa" in the north of the country. This group forced the Police Force to deploy 12,500 conventional police personnel and 400 tactical unit members, including gunboats and armored vehicles, for the Ondo State governorship election.
In accordance with the Nigerian Intelligence, the new terror (insurgent) group originated in the Republic of Niger after the recent coup, and has affiliation with terrorist organizations across the Sahel, particularly from Mali.
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