The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, has urged Nigerians to deploy all available resources in prosecuting the campaign against the Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
Amosu spoke at the burial ceremony for two airmen, Group Capt. Ubong Akpan and Master Warrant Officer Zabesan Hosea, at the Military Cemetery, Abuja, on Friday.
The CAS said the campaign against the Boko Haram insurgents must be given maximum attention because it was tied to the sovereignty of the country.
Amosu, who described the two airmen as among the best in the nation’s Air Force, added that they died in active service on November 13, 2013 while fighting to halt the Boko Haram advance on Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
The military helicopter deployed to give air support to the men of the Nigerian Army involved in the fight against the insurgents crashed at the Federal University of Technology, Yola, on November 13, 2014.
A statement posted on the official website of the Nigerian Armed Forces http://defenceinfo.mil.ng/, stated that the three crew members involved in the crash died.
Amosu explained that the two men died while defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria as they were sent out on the armed patrol when it became clear that Yola was under threat from the rampaging insurgent.
He said, “The war against terrorism and insurgency is tied to the sovereignty of Nigeria and all resources available must be deployed to prosecute the battle to stop them.
“Today, I speak to you with a heavy heart; we lost two of our best in the service. These great men died in defence of our great nation.
“On the day they died, it was apparent that Yola could fall. So, these two officers took off on an armed patrol against the insurgents, in defence of our country.”
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau, said the officers must be remembered for their gallantry and heroic acts in defence of the country.
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