The Nigerian Air Force says it has identified the possible locations of the abducted Chibok school girls.
The Director of Public Relations of the Air Force, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, told Channels Television that the force has therefore abstained from attacking the identified areas to avoid hitting the girls.
According to him, the latest aerial bombardment of Sambisa forest had been aimed at the logistics base of the Boko Haram sect and not areas where the Chibok girls could be located.
“We have no fears that the girls are not there because that particular location has been under surveillance for quite a while and we suspected maybe it’s a kind of ammunition depot or maybe a workshop that they are using as their logistics place.
“Once you take off the logistics base, of course you gradually weaken the resolve of the enemy to be able to prosecute any campaign,” he said.
Famuyiwa said the military is deploying drones also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to maximum use in its battle with Boko Haram because it is cheaper to run and reduces loss of lives.
Drones “have the capability to be airborne for up to eleven hours and they are quite cheap to maintain. So, we have been able to employ the UAV to a great extent to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance basically for intelligence gathering on the activities of the Boko Haram,” he said.
He said that drones have also helped the Air Force to understand the terrorists’ pattern of movement and “how to be able to counter them should they want to strike or spring any surprise”.
