Chief of Air Staff, Isyaka Amao, has said the military is battle-ready to flush out bandits and kidnappers from the country.
The air chief, who spoke, yesterday, during an operational visit to the Air Force base in Kaduna State, said President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the military to improve security and ensure that people return to their farms during the rainy season without security threats.
“Our officers and men are ready for the battle against bandits and kidnappers. We are working towards that in synergy, the platforms are ready for the operations and we are liaising with the army and other ground troops for the operations. My message to bandits is that we are coming after them together with the army, navy and other security agencies to make sure they are flushed out of the country.”
Amao said the welfare of the air force personnel would be prioritised so as to motivate the troops to diligently carry out their duties.
“Welfare entails providing personnel with equipment, conducive training environment and where they live, and to make sure they are given their entitlements,” he said.
The air chief also paid a visit to Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Bandits have invaded several schools in Kaduna in the past few days, abducting teachers and students.
Last Friday, 39 students were abducted when gunmen invaded the Federal College Of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, Igabi LGA of the state.
Days later, the abducted students appeared in a viral video on social media, wherein they were seen being tortured by gunmen while appealing to the government to rescue them. On Monday, gunmen again attacked UBE primary school at Rama in Birnin-Gwari LGA of the state and abducted some pupils.
The UBE primary school incident was two days after troops of the Nigerian army foiled the attempt of bandits to abduct some students of Turkish International Secondary School in Kaduna.
