Military Needs Air Power To Rout Boko Haram - Experts

Security experts have called on the Federal Government to empower the
military with attack helicopters to win the war against terrorism,
noting that the security forces need complete air power to defeat Boko
Haram insurgents.

They observed that the missing NAF466 Alpha jet might have been shot
down by insurgents, adding that investigators should probe the
circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the aircraft.

Reacting to the report of the missing jet on Sunday in Abuja, a
security consultant, Ben Okezie, said it was unfortunate that the
Military would lose the aircraft at this point in time, noting that
the security forces are not combating local insurgents, but
international terrorists who have the backing of some foreign
countries.

Okezie observed that Russia and Iran are in league and were supporting
any group that had a grievance against the United States,adding that
Nigeria should not fail to see the nexus between the ongoing
insurgency and international politics.

The consultant noted that Boko Haram, had sworn to attack and take
over Maiduguri, Borno State by October 1,2014, stressing that they
would do anything to achieve their objectives, including bringing down
military aircraft.

He advised the military authorities to recall retired military
personnel, pointing out that the US did so during the Iraq war.

"America recalled their retired personnel during the Iraq war, so why
are we shying away from doing that? If it is because of money, we have
the money. Those boys are getting more sophisticated and getting
weapons. Remember, an Emir in the area saying he saw a helicopter
dropping things for Boko Haram, but nobody is asking questions,"
Okezie stated.

Another security expert, Max Gbanite, said that three things could be
responsible for the crash of a jet namely, technical problems, weather
and enemy fire, if it is in the theatre of operation.

According to him, it may take some time before investigators find out
the cause of the crash, adding that if it was due to weather, then the
Army would need a geo-spatial laboratory to determine the weather
condition in the jet's area of operation.

He however, said that fighter jets are not the best weapon against
insurgents on account of certain limitations, noting that the
terrorists could easily hide on seeing the aircraft and then continue
with their activities after the jet has left the area.

Gbanite observed that the missing jet was used by the military in
Liberia, noting that the aircraft may be about 40 years old,
regardless of the refurbishment of its engines and other parts.

He called for purchase of attack helicopters for the military,
stressing that the security forces need air support to win the war
against the insurgents.
Gbanite said, "Government must fund the Air Force to bring in attack
helicopters, time is not on our side. The CDS once talked about
drones, but Nigeria does not have that at this level, though we can
use it to gather information on the terrorists, but what we need now
is complete air support to turn things around."