The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is purchasing 54 new air assets, including combat aircraft, helicopters and drones, to increase the nation’s capacities to stand against rising security threats, said Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao, chief of air staff of the country’s air force.
Approved by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, whose second term is coming to an end within a few months, the purchase is expected to feature Italian-made twin-engine transonic attack aircraft M-346, Turkish twin-engine attack helicopters T-129 ATAK, Italian Agusta 109 Trekker multirole helicopters, along with Chinese unmanned Wing Loong 2 aerial vehicles, which are capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight.
However, the official did not specify either the time limits for the delivery of the air assets or the quantities of each model.
Over the past years, Nigeria has been fighting major internal security threats from terrorist groups in the northeast of the country along with various armed gangs, who used to kidnap and kill locals in the northwest.
Meanwhile, separatist movements are on the rise in Nigeria’s southeast seeking to restore a former secessionist state, the Republic of Biafra, which seceded from Nigeria before the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) and later returned to Nigeria after the Nigerian Army's victory.
Although Nigerian national security forces have been intensifying their counter-terrorism operations to contain the insurgency in the northern part of the country, unrest has continued to grow and attacks haven’t stopped. They are still considered a major insecurity to the West African nation.
Last Saturday, a group of gunmen attacked a mosque in the state of Katsina in northwestern Nigeria, killing a dozen worshipers, including the imam, and abducting several others. Such an attack was not the first in the region, where some armed gangs used to demand that villagers pay for their protection and safety to be allowed to peacefully pursue their livelihoods.