The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sodique Baba Abubakar, has said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) bases in the country were under threat of attack by adversaries, ThisDay newspaper reports.
Addressing participants at the opening of Base Defence Planning Retreat at the Air Force base in Kaduna yesterday, Abubakar said officers and men of the force had been placed on red alert to prevent any attack.
"We have had an attack on one of our airbases in the recent past and current intelligence reports keep highlighting the possibility of attacks on our bases.
"Given the importance of bases in the airpower delivery matrix, it is not inconceivable to expect our adversaries to target our bases," Abubakar said.
Recently, Boko Haram insurgents attacked the air force base in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The CAS noted that the evolving security environment globally and especially in Nigeria had become complex and most times, unpredictable, ranging from challenges of terrorism, militancy, kidnapping to economic sabotage.
"On assumption of office and with the need to develop a robust base defence concept in view, we carried out a review of the then base defence concept.
"The conclusion was that the erstwhile base defence concept with its emphasis on emplacing static guards at identified key and vulnerable points was no longer tenable and sufficient to respond to our contemporary threats.
"Consequently, we introduced a new base defence concept. The new base defence concept is premised on the development and deployment of an air-minded ground defence force, trained and equipped as special light infantry and capable of operating both inside and outside the base perimeter against contemporary threats while leveraging on intelligence and available modern technology.
"However, recent evaluations of the bases revealed that many commanders and bases are still sold on the old concept and are yet to imbibe and adopt the tenets of the new base defence concept," he said.
The air force boss added that in order to avoid a repeat of destruction of air assets, the British Military Assistant Team (BMAT) was expected in the country to train 300 regiment personnel in order to have reliable and highly skilled personnel that can protect all air force bases in the country.
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