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CHIEF OF THE
AIR STAFF (CAS)

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AIR MARSHAL SADIQUE BABA ABUBAKAR DFS GSS PSC(+) FWC FDC(+) MSC

CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF

BACKGROUND

Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar is the 20th Chief of the Air Staff Nigerian Air Force. In this
capacity, he is responsible to the Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Force through the Air
Council for the command, direction and general superintendence of the Nigerian Air Force and the
Nigerian Air Force Reserve.

Air Marshal Abubakar was born on 8 April 1960 at Azare in Bauchi State. He joined the Nigerian Air
Force as a member of the Cadet Military Training Course (CMTC 5) in November 1979 and was
commissioned pilot officer on 15 May 1982. He progressed steadily through the ranks and was
promoted to the rank of Air Marshal on 13 August 15.

COURSES ATTENDED

Courses attended both in military and civil institutions are:

Military Institutions.
Primary Flying Training Course
Basic Flying Training Course.
Mi-35p Helicopter gunship Tactical Type Rating Course.
Mi-17 Type Rating Course.
Junior Division (JD) Course 33.
Senior Staff (SD) Course 21.
National War College (National Defence College).
Commercial Pilot License (Helicopters) with Instrument Rating.
Civil Institutions.
MSc Strategic Studies - University of Ibadan.
BSc Political Science (Second Class Upper Division).
Diploma in Public Administration.

APPOINTMENTS

Command, staff and training appointments include:

Command
Commander Nigerian Air Force Station Maiduguri.
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Commanding Officer 207 Wing.
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Acting Commanding Officer, National Emergency Management Agency Air Wing.

Commander 97 Special Operations Group Port Harcourt.
Air Component Commander OPERATION RESTORE HOPE.
Air Officer Commanding Training Command Kaduna.
Staff
Group Operations Officer of 97 Special Operations Group.
Senior Air Staff Officer in Mobility Command Yenagoa.
Senior Air Staff Officer in Tactical Air Command Makurdi.
Chief of Standards and Evaluation, Headquarters Nigerian Air Force.
Chief of Defence Communications, Defence Headquarters.
Chief of Administration at the Headquarters Nigerian Air Force.
Training
Directing Staff, Junior Division Armed Forces Command and Staff College.
Directing Staff, Senior Division Armed Forces Command and Staff College.
Directing Staff, National Defence College.
External Examiner at the National Defence College.
Chairman, Participant’s Project Defence Panel.

FLIGHT INFORMATION

Some of the aircraft flown include the Bulldog, Piper Warrior, Enstrom, Bell 206, BO-105, Mi-17 and
Mi-35P helicopters; he is a training Captain accumulating over 2,500 operational and instructional
flying hours.

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Some of the major awards and decorations are as follows:

a. Best Cadet in Flying at Primary Flying Training Wing in 1981.

b. Best All Round Cadet at Primary Flying Training Wing in 1981.
c. Tactical Air Command Best Officer of the Year in 1997.
d. Chief of the Air Staff Letter of Commendation for good leadership and prudent management
of resources by Air Marshal OO Petinrin in 2009.
e. Chief of the Air Staff Letter of Commendation for good leadership and prudent management
of resources by Air Marshal MD Umar in 2011.
f. Chief of the Air Staff’s Special Award from Air Marshal AS Badeh in 2013.
g. Distinguished Flying Star (DFS).
h. General Service Star (GSS).
i. Passed Staff Course Dagger psc(+).
j. Distinguished Fellow of the National Defence College fdc(+).
k. Distinguished Alumni of National Defence College.

MARITAL STATUS

Happily married with children.

HOBBIES

Reading and walking.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Of ineAbubakar, in July 2015 by President

Following the appointment of Air Marshal Sadique Baba
Muhammadu Buhari, the narrative of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has continued to change
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u a adu u a , e a a e o e ge a o ce ( ) as co ued o c a ge
positively, particularly as the administration focused on securing the country and making it more
conducive for citizens to go about their daily activities without any form of fear. Air Marshal
Abubakar, who came on board with the vision of repositioning the NAF into a highly professional and
disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective, efficient and timely employment
of air power in response to Nigeria's national security imperatives, has, within the last 4 years or
so, recorded remarkable achievements in the fight against terrorism and other forms of criminality
in the country. This has been greatly facilitated by the acquisition of new platforms and reactivation
of existing ones. The NAF has also witnessed enhanced professionalism through the expansion of
its organizational structure and augmentation of its manpower strength. Tremendous progress has
also been made in the areas of human capacity development, enhancement of personnel welfare as
well as Research and Development (R&D).

FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISTS/ARMED BANDITS AND AIR POWER PROJECTION

The Nigerian nation has witnessed remarkable improvement in the security situation especially as
regards the war against Boko Haram (BH), since 2015 when the current leadership came into
power. As at early 2015, the BH Sect was in control of over 20 Local Government Areas in the
Northeastern part of the country. However, the combined efforts of the Armed Forces, supported by
other security agencies, have resulted in the liberation of virtually all of these territories from the
Sect. The activities of the Sect are mainly limited to the fringes of Lake Chad and parts of Sambisa
and Alagarno Forests. As a result, many erstwhile displaced  persons have been able to return to
their ancestral homes, as peace returned to the hitherto war-torn areas. The NAF also conducted
several air raids in support of the Operation LAFIYA DOLE. Some of the independent operations
include Operation RUWAN WUTA I – IV, Operation THUNDER STRIKE I and II as well as Operation
GREEN SWEEP I to III.

In the fight against armed banditry in the Northwest, the NAF has deployed personnel along with air
assets as part of the DHQ Operation SHARAN DAJI and now Operation HADARAN DAJI. It had also
conducted dedicated air strikes against identified armed bandit locations under the auspices of
Operation DIRAN MIKIYA. In addition, the NAF also deployed some Special Forces elements that are
fighting side by side with other Services and security agencies in the various Theatres of Operation.
Also, in conjunction with other security agencies, the NAF has continued to provide close air
support, air interdiction, in-Theatres liaison flights, medical and casualty evacuation as well as
logistics re-supply of ammunitions, water, food and medicine. In the past 4 years, the NAF has also
scaled up its Communications and Information Systems (CIS) support for the various Theatres of
Operation thereby enhancing Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) missions and
improving the dissemination of intelligence. One of the major institutional frameworks established
in this regard is the new Geospatial Intelligence Data Centre (GIDC) at HQ NAF, which is equipped
with high-tech computer hardware and software, to improve capacity for acquisition, exploitation,
analysis and interpretation of imagery and geospatial information to provide actionable intelligence
for the Armed Forces and other security agencies. In addition, the newly established Strategic Air
Operations Centre (SAOC) would equally enhance the coordination of air operations across the
country.

Civil-Military Relations

In an effort to alleviate the sufferings of IDPs as well as win the hearts and minds of those affected
by the activities of BHTs, the NAF established two Level 2 hospitals in Bama and Dalori, Borno
State. The NAF also initiated a school feeding programme for 1,000 school children in the 2 IDP
Camps. This has greatly contributed to the number of pupils that have returned to school in the
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area. Similarly, the NAF, in a bid to strengthen better civil-military relations between the NAF and
members of host communities has continued to conduct medical outreaches all over the country
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members of host communities, has continued to conduct medical outreaches all over the country
and has so far treated over 300,000 people in different parts of the country in the last 4 years.

Projection of Air Power in the West African Sub-Region

NAF has been able to project Air Power beyond the shores of Nigeria. NAF Alpha Jets were the first
and only fighter aircraft deployed in the Gambia to actualise the mandate of the Gambian people
and facilitate the peaceful handover of political power to President Adama Barrow. The C-130s,
flying the Nigerian flag, also transported humanitarian relief materials to the Sierra Leonean
people after the unfortunate mudslides that affected that country in August 2017. The Nigerian Air
Force on 22 August, 2019 airlifted back to the Country no fewer than 133 Nigerians who took refuge
in neighbouring Cameron. The returnees were airlifted with a NAF C-130H aircraft from the Moroua
Salak International Airport in Cameroon’s Northern Region to Yola International Airport. This was in
furtherance of NAF’s constitutional role of providing Military Aid to Civil Authority.

AIRCRAFT ACQUISITION AND REACTIVATION

In the last 4 years, the NAF fleets of aircraft have recorded unprecedented increase. The Federal
Government has acquired 19 brand new aircraft to boost training and combat readiness of the NAF.
These include 10 Super Mushshak trainer aircraft, 5 new Mi-35M Helicopters gunships, 2 Bell 412
helicopters and 2 Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopters. Beside these, 18 additional aircraft have
also been ordered by the Federal Government, which include 12 Super Tucano attack aircraft, 3 JF-
17 Thunder Multi-role fighter aircraft as well as 3 other helicopters – 2 more Agusta 109 Power
Attack Helicopters and one Agusta 139W utility helicopter. In the same vein, 20 erstwhile grounded
aircraft such as Falcon 900, ATR-42, Beechcraft, Super Puma, F-7Ni, EC-135 Do-228, Mi-24V, Mi-
35P, C-130H and L-39ZA have been reactivated, with the reactivation of another 5 soon to be
completed; 2 helicopters - one Mi-35P and a Dauphin – as well as 3 additional Alpha Jet aircraft.
Indeed, for the first time in its history, the NAF is conducting multiple in-country Periodic Depot
Maintenance (PDM) of its platforms; C-130H in Lagos, 3 Alpha Jet aircraft in Kainji and 3 L-39ZA
aircraft in Kano. The acquisitions and reactivation as well as the emplacement of robust logistics
support structure have enabled the NAF to raise the serviceability status of operable aircraft from
about 35 per cent in 2015 to an average of about 80 per cent as at May 2019.

EXPANSION OF NAF STRUCTURE AND ENHANCEMENT OF MANPOWER

In the past 4 years, the NAF has expanded its force structure by creating 2 new branches, 2 new
Field Commands as well as several new units including some Quick Response Groups and Wings
(QRGs/QRWs), to bring security closer to the people of Nigeria. The 2 new Commands are the
Special Operations Command which is located in Bauchi and the Ground Training Command which
is located in Enugu. The QRGs/QRWs and Regiment Groups, which are manned by NAF Regiment
and Special Forces personnel, are located in Nguroje, Taraba State; Ipetu Ijesha, Osun State;
Owerri, Imo State and Agatu, Benue State. Other locations where the NAF established new units
include Kerang, Plateau State; Kastina, Katsina State; Gombe, Gombe State; Gusau, Zamfara State;
Doma, Nassarawa State as well as Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.

In order to optimally man the new structure for more effective and efficient employment of air
power, the NAF embarked on massive recruitment resulting in the training of a total of about 7,693
young Nigerians as airmen/airwomen and 916 as officers, in the last 4 years. This has boosted the
capacity of the Service to sufficiently curtail insecurity in the country, while also implicitly keying
into the Federal Government policy of job creation for young Nigerians.

TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING EFFORTS Of ine

In line with one of the key drivers of the CAS’ Vision which deals with human capacity development
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In line with one of the key drivers of the CAS Vision, which deals with human capacity development
and result-oriented training, the NAF has trained various officers and airmen/airwomen in different
categories of air and ground crew. The NAF has winged 92 pilots in the last 4 years alone, while 117
other student pilots are currently undergoing training both within and outside the country. Worthy of
particular mention is the female officer undergoing training in the United States of America to
become the first female fighter pilot in the history of the NAF. Similarly, for the first time in the
history of the NAF, another female pilot is currently undergoing training in South Africa to become
the first NAF female helicopter pilot.

The NAF has also built several facilities to further enhance training and operations effectiveness.
The NAF has built several shooting ranges. Also, training facilities at the Military Training Centre in
Kaduna have been expanded to allow for the simultaneous training of recruits. At the moment, the
NAF can train 2,500 simultaneously as against the previous 500. Similarly, the enhancement of
training facilities at the 401 Flying Training School (401 FTS) Kaduna has improved the training
capacity of the school by about 700 per cent. As a result, for the first time in about 3 decades, the
school was able to complete ab-initio flying training for cadets before their commissioning as
officers. Another major achievement, in terms of capacity building, was the conduct of a live
weapons firing meet featuring all NAF combat aircraft, which took place at the Kwanev Range in
Benue State during the 2017 NAF Day Celebrations for the first time in about 30 years. NAF has also
significantly boosted the capacity of its Regiment and Special Forces (SF) with additional training
and equipment to improve operations in the fight against insurgency and other forms of criminality.
Since 2015, NAF has tripled the number of SF personnel to a 1,000-strong well-trained, well-kitted
and well-motivated force capable of conducting specialized operations, either independently or in
concert with other Services thereby successfully bridging the gap between Air Power projection and
force protection. The overall strength of NAF Regiment personnel has also been increased from
less than 1,000 to about 4,000, with about 2,250 of these trained in Force Protection in Complex Air
Ground Environment (FPCAGE) by the British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT). Other areas
that have received significant capacity boost include the training of engineers and technicians,
Information Technology, K-9 Unit, medical personnel as well as criminal investigation and
forensics, among others. The NAF has also established a Pipe Band ensemble to add colour and
compliment ceremonial parades and functions.

INFRATSRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF PERSONNEL WELFARE

President Muhammadu Buhari on 15 August 2019, commissioned a 60-bed ultra-modern Nigerian

Air Force Reference Hospital in Daura, Kastina State. The 60-bed Hospital consists of an Accident
and Emergency Unit, Intensive Care Unit, Twin Theatres, Radio Diagnostic Unit as well as Renal
Dialysis, Ophthalmic, Dental, Physiotherapy, Maternal and New Born Units in addition to a Mortuary.
It is also equipped with modern diagnostic and Life Support equipment intended to provide medical
care to critically ill patients such as those wounded in combat. The President had also
commissioned a NAF Reference Hospital in Bauchi State on 26 April 2018. Under his leadership, the
NAF also upgraded medical equipment at its various medical centres around the country, with new
Cancer Screening Centres established in Bauchi, Kaduna, Maiduguri and Makurdi. The NAF medical
hospital in Port Harcourt was also upgraded to a Reference Hospital. Moreover, in the last 4 years,
the NAF has renovated/remodeled and constructed new blocks of classrooms and hostel
accommodations in existing NAF schools across NAF units while establishing 2 new secondary
schools. These are the Air Force Girls Comprehensive School Abuja and the Air Force Secondary
School (AFSS) Shasha, Lagos. AFSS Kaduna was also upgraded to a boarding school and renamed
Air Force Comprehensive School Kaduna. In addition, the NAF, through massive construction of
residential accommodation, has been able to raise accommodation sufficiency from 35 to about 72
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per cent, despite almost doubling the strength of its personnel in the last 4 years. In all, the NAF
has executed over 900 infrastructure projects including office and residential accommodations
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has executed over 900 infrastructure projects including office and residential accommodations,
messes and recreational facilities as well as schools and hospitals, amongst others.

The NAF has also established a very robust Post-Service Housing Programme to address the
housing needs of officers and airmen/airwomen as they prepare for retirement. The programme is
managed by the Nigerian Air Force Housing and Construction Company Ltd (NAFHCC), which is a
subsidiary of the Nigerian Air Force Holding Company (NAFHC). Some of its successful projects
include the NAF Valley Housing Estates 1 and 2 in Asokoro, NAF Harmony Estate in Porthacourt,
NAF Unity Estate in Kuje, NAF Diamond Estate in Nasarawa State and NAF Eagle Estate in Bwari.
The objective is to ease the burden of post-Service life settlement for NAF personnel.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BREAKTHROUGHS

The NAF, in the last 4 years, has invested greatly in R&D so as to develop unprecedented capacity to
surmount current and emerging security challenges. Some of the R&D breakthroughs recorded
include the production of the first NAF indigenous operational Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV),
named Tsaigunmi, which was inducted into the NAF by President Mohammadu Buhari in February
2018. Others are the receipt of patent rights for the production of the Unmanned Ground Vehicle as
well as the production of the hydraulic accumulator diaphragm for the Mi-35 helicopter. The Service
also locally weaponized several platforms including the Mi-17 helicopter, 2 x Bell 412 helicopters, 2
x EC-135 helicopters, L-39ZA trainer aircraft and 3 x Alpha Jet aircraft, whose weapon systems
were reconfigured to carry not only the Western bloc rocket launchers but also Eastern bloc rocket
launchers. In addition, the NAF designed/produced a test bench for the Alpha Jet anti-skid system
and locally produced 30.1mm rocket launcher/rockets as well as a Foreign Object Damage (FOD)
debris Picker for use on the flight line and heat shield protective cone for Alpha Jet rocket pods.
Through the initiative of the CAS, the AFRDC successfully installed the Gesha 23mm gun of the
decommissioned MiG-21 aircraft on an Hilux vehicle and also produced two 6-tube rocket launcher
for the Bell-412 helicopter.

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