NAF Deploys More Aircraft to North-Central Region to Bolster Peace Efforts…details

As part of efforts to restore peace across the North-Central region, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed additional air assets under Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS). The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, visited Tactical Air Command, Makurdi, today, 17 June 2025, to assess operational effectiveness. In a joint high-level meeting with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Olufemi Oluyede; a representative of the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira; and other key commanders, updates were provided on the heightened tempo of joint operations in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba States.

The CAS revealed that the newly deployed aircraft have enhanced operational reach, delivering real-time intelligence, close air support, and precision strikes that have dismantled militia camps and criminal hideouts. He emphasized that these actions align with the Federal Government’s drive to stabilise the Middle Belt and reaffirmed NAF’s resolve to protect innocent lives and maintain pressure on all threat actors until peace is fully restored.

The Service Chiefs jointly underscored the importance of synergy among the Armed Forces, highlighting that jointness remains key to operational success. They assured Nigerians that current operations are part of a wider strategy to ensure residents can live and work without fear. Air Marshal Abubakar reaffirmed, “As long as peace is threatened, our resolve remains unshaken.”