Abuja, Nigeria – The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is conducting intensive training to reduce harm to civilians during its air operations. The NAF has completed a five-day Civilian Harm Mitigation (CHM) course for its first batch of officers, which included pilots, drone operators, and legal officers.
The training, held at the Air Warfare and Doctrine Centre in Abuja, is a key part of the NAF’s Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP), which was launched earlier this year. According to Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, the Chief of the Air Staff, the plan is a “professional imperative” to ensure “precision, legality, and humanity remain at the heart of every mission.”
The curriculum covered International Humanitarian Law, target identification methods, and protocols for engaging sensitive targets. The NAF said the CHMR-AP has already resulted in a “marked reduction in collateral damage incidents” despite ongoing operations.
Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, representing the Chief of Civil-Military Relations, said the training goes beyond just complying with international law. He stated that building trust with communities by protecting civilians is a “force multiplier” that strengthens intelligence sharing and helps isolate hostile actors. The NAF is set to train two more batches of officers by September.
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