By SUMAILA OGBAJE

The Federal Government has taken steps to address the trend of airspace violations by foreign aircrafts operating within the sovereign airspace of Nigeria without appropriate operational clearance.

This was disclosed at a high-level inter-agency stakeholder meeting convened by the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday in Abuja.

It was contained in a statement by the Personal Assistant on media to the Minister of State for Defence, Ahmad Dan-Wudil, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Dan-Wudil said the meeting was chaired by the Ministers of Defence, Mohammed Badaru and Dr. Bello Matawalle, in collaboration with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

He said the meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Amb. Gabriel Aduda, and a representative from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

According to him, others in attendance were the representatives of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS); the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS); and the Office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

?Also in attendance were representatives from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

?The meeting was convened in continuation of deliberations from the previous meeting held on Nov. 11, 2024 at the ONSA.

?The focus of today?s meeting was the persistent pattern of unauthorized and often uncoordinated incursions into Nigerian airspace by foreign-operated aircraft and rotorcraft platforms?an act deemed a serious violation of national sovereignty and aviation safety,? he said.

Dan-Wudil said that the key areas of the discussion included, Joint Review of an Air Defence System and TRACON capabilities, coordinated between the Ministries of Defence and Aviation.

He said the ministers reaffirmed the resolve of the federal government to protect and defend the territorial integrity of the nation against all forms of incursion, including those by air.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu?s Renewed Hope Administration remains committed and unrelenting in the defence of Nigeria?s sovereign airspace. (NAN)

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