By Reportcircle Abuja
In a decisive move to fortify Nigeria’s energy backbone, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited have sealed a reinforced security pact aimed at defending the nation’s critical oil and gas infrastructure from sabotage, theft and insurgent incursions.
The renewed alliance was affirmed on 25 November 2025 in Abuja when the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, paid a strategic visit to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari.
The meeting signals a deeper, more aggressive joint approach to securing oil installations pivotal to Nigeria’s economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Air Marshal Aneke declared that the nation’s economic survival directly depends on securing pipelines, flow stations, offshore platforms and associated installations that feed Nigeria’s energy supply chain.
He stated that the NAF’s upgraded intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) framework backed by advanced air platforms and joint-force coordination is already reducing oil theft and improving national output.
“Protecting these assets is protecting the economy,” he said, stressing that technology-driven surveillance and rapid-response capabilities are now being expanded to disrupt criminal networks before they strike.
Aneke noted that the Air Force’s strengthened maritime security posture will provide NNPC with far deeper protection of offshore energy corridors areas that have become high-risk zones due to pipeline vandalism, illegal refining and militant activity.
Responding, NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, hailed the partnership as “timely and strategic,” noting that the President’s directive to raise output and investment cannot succeed without robust security support.
He described the NAF as a “critical national stabilizer,” emphasising that secure operating environments translate directly into steady production and fewer disruptions in the oil and gas value chain.
Ojulari pledged that NNPC would deepen technical collaboration with the Air Force, including:
Advanced intelligence-sharing
Joint threat-assessment operations
Deployment of modern surveillance technologies around high-risk assets
The GCEO said these measures will enable faster decision-making, improved field security and enhanced investor confidence.
Air Marshal Aneke assured NNPC of the Air Force’s continued operational support, vowing that NAF will remain relentless in confronting insurgents, vandals, illegal refiners and organized criminal groups targeting national resources.
He added that a tighter NAF–NNPC alignment will significantly bolster coastal and maritime security, reduce revenue leakages, and contribute to Nigeria’s broader economic recovery.
The deepened partnership marks one of the strongest joint security commitments yet between the two institutions signalling an era where energy security is treated as a frontline national priority.
