SKYLYN

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) recently trained 12 personnel of its Air Provost Specialty in advanced dog handling techniques to enhance their proficiency in carrying out criminal investigations and other security-related duties. The 6-week advanced dog handlers' course was conducted at Braveheart Bio-Dog Academy in South Africa as a follow-up to the basic K9 training received at the Nigeria Police Force Dog Breeding/Training Centre Abuja. It is the first time in a while that NAF personnel would receive special training in dog handling at a reputable overseas institution. Considering the security challenges currently being faced in the country, the newly acquired dogs, which have been trained to detect explosives, arms and ammunitions, narcotics as well as other substances, are expected to serve as a complement to explosive detection devices. The attendance of the advanced dog handlers’ course has further boosted the capacity of the affected NAF personnel and also exposed the...

Air marshal Abubakar, the chief of air staff has placed officers and men of the air force 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,” he said. “Given the importance of bases in the airpower delivery matrix, it is not inconceivable to expect our adversaries to target our bases. He added that evolving security environment globally had become complex and “most times unpredictable.” Abubakar said these issues range from challenges of terrorism, militancy, kidnapping to economic sabotage. “On the 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,” he said.   “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 forc...