By Yochuku Ofoka Yobolisa, Editor in Chief
The Nigerian Air Force is set to broaden the fight against syndicate crimes and criminalities as the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has taken steps to inaugurate a joint task force of the service and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. The air force boss assured the director-general of NAPTIP, Hajiya Imaam Suleiman-Ibrahim of NAF’s willingness to join hands with her agency to stem human trafficking.
Air Marshal Amao gave the assurance yesterday when the NAPTIP’s boss paid him a working visit at the air force headquarters in Abuja.
The Chief of the Air Staff promptly directed his chief of training and operations “to constitute a team comprising NAF and NAPTIP personnel to work out modalities of harmonizing all the requests to bring the collaboration to fruition.”
Earlier, Hajiya Suleiman-Ibrahim who had sought NAF’s assistance in fighting human trafficking solicited for technical support in the areas of personnel training and intelligence gathering, adding that trafficking in human beings is modern-day slavery that has become a lucrative enterprise worth about $150 billion.
She said. “There is the urgent need for all stakeholders to synergize to fight the menace. On our own part, we are making efforts to establish an academy to train our personnel. We would, therefore, need NAF’s assistance in the training of our personnel and the provision of infrastructure. We would also need assistance in the area of airlift to enable the agency to overcome some of its logistics challenges.”
Replying, Amao gave permission for NAPTIP to take advantage of the NAF School of air intelligence in Makurdi to train its personnel in basic intelligence to bring them up to speed in intelligence gathering. He also assured the agency of airlift whenever they require it.
“It is good that we all work together to keep our citizens and our nation safe,” Amao said.
