Chief of Air Staff urges insurgents to surrender or face consequence

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on Saturday warned the Boko Haram insurgents to surrender or face the full force of the nation’s military capability.

Abubakar gave the warning while addressing newsmen at the end of 2015 Annual 10-kilometer Walk/Jog exercise organised by the Admin Branch of the Nigerian Air Force, in Abuja.

`` My message to the insurgents is simple; it is either they give up their insurgency or they are going to face the force.

`` We are putting together everything in place and we hope that they will keep to this advice and surrender their arms.

`` They can come up so that we can bring this operation to an end, if not, the consequences will be terribly unbearable, `` Abubakar said.

`` The deadline has been set and we are going to achieve that deadline.

`` It is not only an Air Force war; it is a war that is jointly fought by all the forces.

`` Our responsibility is to make it easy for the surface forces to move around to conduct their operation without any hindrance and that is exactly what we have been doing.

`` It is a very coordinated operation between the air elements and the land elements and that is why we are beginning to see the result of that coordination, `` he said.

The chief of air staff said that the significance of the exercise was to keep the minds and body of officers and men fit and ready to combat insurgency.

`` In trying times such as now, you need not only a sound mind but you also need a very sound body.

`` Certainly, somebody that has weak body is not likely to do well in the battle, so it is an opportunity for us to remind ourselves that we have very trying times.

`` We have challenges and responsibilities as members of the Nigerian Air Force and you cannot do that with only a sound mind, you need a sound body as well.

`` We are likely going to introduce additional exercise that will keep our men in good shape so that they are able to discharge their constitutional responsibilities without any difficulties,’’ the chief of air staff said.