Chief of Air Force Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, has said operational success is no longer determined solely by kinetic dominance but by building trust, fostering cooperation and integrating human dimension into air operations.

Aneke stated this at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Civil–Military Relations Conference 2026 yesterday, themed “Leveraging Civil-Military Relations for Enhanced Operational Efficiency.”

He disclosed that NAF had deliberately repositioned civil–military relations as a key operational enabler through enhanced community engagement, institutionalised feedback mechanisms, and strengthened strategic communication across operational theatres.

The air chief said the initiatives were designed to ensure that NAF operations remain effective, responsible, and transparent.

He stated that compensation had been approved for victims of the accidental airstrike in Sokoto, as well as the execution of Special
Intervention Projects in Kwara, Rivers, Delta, Kano, and Akwa Ibom States, including medical outreaches and infrastructure support, further strengthening public trust and cooperation.

He stressed the importance of intelligence-driven operations, inter-agency collaboration, and the integration of kinetic and non-kinetic strategies such as strategic communication and community engagement.

Earlier, the Chief of Civil–Military Relations, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, highlighted the growing importance of non-kinetic operations in modern air warfare.

Gabkwet noted that the establishment of the Civil–Military Relations Branch in July 2024 was part of deliberate efforts to strengthen community engagement, ensure human rights compliance, and enhance perception management.

MEANWHILE, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has applauded the Nigerian Ministry of Defence for a national C4I programme valued at over $190 million on the counter-terrorism war.

Consequently, the group canvassed active support for the broad-based national security agenda of the Minister of Defence, General Chris Gwabin Musa, aimed at providing effective and efficient security for the lives and property of the citizens.

The rights group stated that, based on the information available to them, the team at the Ministry of Defence had been doing basic background work to achieve a successful counterterrorism war in the country.

HURIWA also backed the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, for publicly urging the civil society in the North-East to partner with security forces to eradicate terrorism and the activities of terrorists, who hide among the affected communities already destroyed by Boko Haram terrorists and ISWAP fighters, largely drawn from Indigenous communities in the Northeast of Nigeria.

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated that the Chief of Defence Staff had not made any mistake by calling on the people of the North-East to work closely with the security forces to eradicate the threats of terrorism.

HURIWA, however, opposed the reintegration programme for terrorists and recommended total liquidation, decimation and degradation of terrorists.