Chief of Air Staff, CAS, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, has said that the emergency rule in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe would not be restored until stability was restored in the states.
Badeh spoke in an interview with journalists in Ilorin, shortly after inspecting the hangar being constructed at Ilorin International Airport and the state-owned International Aviation College in Ilorin, noting that the current state of emergency would last longer than expected.
Badeh explained that the extension became necessary because, the required level of stability needed in most parts of North East had not been achieved.
“The Armed Forces was created, basically to secure Nigerians and make sure that we have a stable civil government in place and to further ensure social well-being of every Nigerian,” he said.
“The state of emergency was declared on May 12 and it was supposed to be lifted by November 12, but we have not yet achieved the required level of stability we need in those areas, which eventually called for extension of the state of emergency. So, I do not know why people are complaining about the extension saying it has imposed hardship on them.
“Absolutely, they have lost nothing by the extension. People should stop deceiving Nigerians about the imposition of the state of emergency,” Badeh said.
He then warned politicians against making inflammatory comments on the issue, pointing out that the administrations of the affected state governments had not been disturbed in any way by the state of emergency.
“Government has not stopped their funding neither has it stopped anything being done in those areas. Rather, the action has only given us the latitude to arrest and detain without taking you to court within 48 hours and also to go and look for the perpetrators of the evil acts in the areas since they have waged war against the Armed Forces,” he added.
On the role of the Air Force, Badeh said it was fully involved in security operations in all the states of the federation, adding that its involvement dated back to the period of joint task force in the Niger Delta.
He also said that, “Militancy was brought to an end mainly because the Air Force responded with force. Before then, people were having their free ways. Right now in Jos, Maiduguri and other states in the North East region, we are fully involved.”
