Directorate of Air Provost of the Nigerian Air Force must lead the investigation of the apparent assassination of the former Chief of Defence Staff and erstwhile Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.
According to President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, Ona Ekhomu, said the fact that Badeh was the head of the Air Force Community means that the commitment of Air Provost detectives will be greater in the hunt for the perpetrators.
Ekhomu commiserated with the family of the four star general and urged the Directorate of Air Provost to emulate the dogged determination and investigative skill which the Nigerian Army displayed in unraveling the assassination of Major General Idris Alkali in Plateau State.
Ekhomu, who is the first chartered security professional in Nigeria urged detectives to revisit the crime scene and search for physical evidence such as bullet casings and any other items of property that might have been left behind by the assassins.
He said the killing was an act of targeted violence which involved good pre-operational intelligence, surprise, speed and lethal violence for effectiveness.
According to him, they executed an ambush on the general and his security detail. The goal of this close-quarter combat tactic was to overwhelm a superior force and leave the crime scene before reinforcements arrived.
“Ambush is one of the oldest but lethal tactic of warfare. In the Gen. Badeh attack, the targeted violence resulted in an assassination, a kidnap and several casualties”.
The security expert said hired killers, like other human beings are creatures of habit. The tactics of the adversaries will reveal much about their methods and motivation.
He said: “they were obviously on a mission to kill the General. So it wasn’t bandits who were operating on that notorious stretch of highway.
“The killers must have learned that the general frequented his farm, they must have surveilled him to know the routes and times he traveled to Keffi, the composition of his protective detail,” he added.
Given the amount of surveillance conducted by the killers, there must be observable evidence out there that can be used to nab them and bring them to book, he added.
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