NAF urges personnel to stand firm against cross-border smuggling

NAF urges personnel to stand firm against cross-border smuggling

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Nigerian Air Force has intensified its campaign against cross-border smuggling with a sensitisation lecture for personnel at NAF Base Port Harcourt, aimed at strengthening national security and safeguarding Nigeria’s economic interests.

Representing the Chief of the Air Staff, Hasan Bala Abubakar, was the Air Provost Marshal, Jibrin Usman, who reaffirmed the Service’s zero tolerance for indiscipline and misconduct. He stressed that smuggling undermines the economy, fuels insecurity, and erodes public trust.

The lecture, themed “The Effects of Cross-Border Smuggling and its Impact on National Security and the Image of the NAF,” outlined the dangers of illicit activities such as oil bunkering, arms trafficking, and contraband trade, which sustain criminal networks and finance terrorism.

Usman warned that any NAF personnel found complicit would be betraying the uniform and urged personnel in the Niger Delta region to remain vigilant and uphold professionalism.

The sensitization aligns with one of the Chief of the Air Staff’s command philosophy pillars: “Deliberate Training and Mission-Oriented Force Development.” The programme concluded with a symbolic tree-planting exercise, underscoring NAF’s commitment to both national security and environmental stewardship.