From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Tuesday unveiled the civilian harm mitigation and response action to curb collateral damage in the event of air operations.
This comes as the NAF said it has invested in advanced technologies and robust protocols to prevent civilian casualties during operational air strike.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, made this known at the unveiling of the document on at a seminar organized to mark NAF 61st Anniversary with the theme “Optimizing Civil-Military Relations in a Joint Operational Environment for Enhanced Air Operations,”.
The NAF Chief, while noting that the service has conducted over 80,000 sorties in the past decade with only few verified incidences of collateral damage, said within this extensive operational record, only a few verified incidents of collateral damage have been recorded.
According to him, “Since 2015, the Nigerian Air Force has flown over 8,000 sorties annually—amounting to more than 80,000 sorties over the past decade. Yet, within this extensive operational record, only a few verified incidents of collateral damage have been recorded. This represents an occurrence rate of less than 0.005 per cent —an exceptional record by global standards, particularly within the complexities of asymmetric warfare,.
” It is a powerful reflection of our professionalism, precision, and steadfast commitment to protecting civilian lives in even the most challenging operational environments,”.
He said “While we take pride in this impressive record, we are by no means complacent. We are very much aware that insurgents often deliberately embed themselves within civilian populations to evade detection, thereby creating unfortunate situations where collateral damage could occur despite our best efforts at precision and restraint,”.
The NAF, however noted that said in the few instances where civilian casualties are reported, the Nigerian Air Force has promptly conducted investigations, accepted responsibility with deep regret, and taken necessary corrective actions to prevent future occurrences.
On technology, Abubakar, while noting that the NAF, has invested massively in advanced technologies and robust protocols aimed at preventing civilian casualties, said these efforts include the deployment of enhanced real-time surveillance platforms, the enforcement of stringent mission-abort procedures upon detection of civilian presence, and the continuous training of personnel in International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict as well as Rules of Engagement.
He also said that the service has instituted robust accountability mechanisms and recently upgraded our Directorate of Civil-Military Relations to Branch status.
“This institutional reform provides greater capacity and strategic focus on non-kinetic operations, ensuring that our engagements are anchored in transparency, compassion, and national interest,”.
“I am also glad to announce that in the course of today’s event, we will be unveiling a landmark policy document titled, the Nigerian Air Force Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan. The document is the first of its kind in the Armed Forces of Nigeria and is designed to guide our efforts in reducing the scale and impact of harm to civilians during air operations,”.
Air Marshal Abubakar, the hope noting that national security is a shared responsibility of all patriotic citizens and institutions, said the synergy between military and civilian stakeholders remains central to achieving our collective aspirations for a secure and prosperous Nigeria.
“He said “The Nigerian Air Force has remained firmly apolitical and deeply committed to upholding democratic ideals, including the rule of law, accountability, and respect for fundamental human rights. This unwavering allegiance to constitutional governance reflects our enduring dedication to protecting the sovereignty and unity of our nation in accordance with our constitutional mandate.”