On April 23, 2026, during the Africa We Build Summit in Nairobi, Kenyan President William Ruto held up the Dangote Refinery as a homegrown solution to a Nigerian paradox. An equally compelling story of continental leadership is unfolding in the skies over West Africa, where Nigeria’s air force—the largest in the region and second largest on the continent—has emerged as the decisive responder to both jihadi expansion and unconstitutional power grabs.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has undergone pronounced expansion. Official data for 2026 indicates the service operates 164 active military aircraft, with an additional 75 on order. In 2024, the NAF had 18,000 personnel and a fleet of 179 platforms (117 aircraft, 55 helicopters, and seven heavy UAVs). By mid-2025, the NAF had flown over 6,000 operational missions, clocking more than 10,500 flight hours and executing nearly 7,000 sorties.

On December 7, 2025, these capabilities were put to a critical test. Mutinous soldiers in Benin Republic attempted to seize power and capture President Patrice Talon in a short-lived but brazen coup. Within hours, Nigerian fighter jets, operating with senatorial approval and under the immediate authorisation of President Bola Tinubu, struck the plotters’ positions. A statement from the Beninese government confirmed: “Nigeria came to our assistance by carrying out airstrikes later in the day, which immobilized some of the armored vehicles used by the mutineers.” The Crisis Group reportedly described Nigeria’s action as its “finest moment” in recent foreign policy.

The intervention in Benin was not merely about democratic restoration; it was a strategic imperative against spreading terrorist networks. For years, the al-Qaeda‑affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has been expanding from the Sahel towards the West African coast, threatening Benin, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire. An analysis of conflict data published in February 2026 shows terrorist attacks along the tri‑border zone of Nigeria, Benin and Niger increased 86% in 2025 compared to 2024. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) confirmed a 262% rise in violent campaigns across the borderlands. By October 2025, JNIM claimed its first lethal attack inside Nigeria, killing a soldier in Kwara State near the Benin border.

In response, Nigeria formalised its “No Sanctuary Doctrine”: any territory—domestic or cross‑border—used to stage attacks against Nigeria constitutes a security concern subject to legal and military action. Nigerian and Beninese forces have initiated bilateral joint counter‑terror operations along their shared border with Niger, and Nigeria has backed a regional ECOWAS standby counter‑terrorism force while restoring financial commitments, including over N169 billion in community levy payments.

The operational backbone is the professionalisation of military airpower. The NAF now routinely integrates advanced Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets to reduce collateral damage. It operates Chinese‑made Wing Loong II drones (31 hours airborne in ISR mode, 26 hours in offensive configuration) and the domestically built Tsaigumi UAV. However, precision is costly: a single Wing Loong II missile costs ~$156,000, and its bomb ~$96,000; a mission to neutralise 10–20 terrorists can exceed $300,000 in munitions alone.

Nonetheless, results have been tangible. In April 2026, following weeks of persistent ISR coverage, NAF assets obliterated an ISWAP terror hub in the Bindul–Jilli axis.

President Ruto’s assessment at the Nairobi summit encapsulated a continent increasingly unwilling to outsource its security. As the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, put it in mid‑2025: “The NAF is now the second‑largest air force on the continent, and its trajectory suggests it’s gunning for the top spot.” Whether through stopping coups or degrading jihadi sanctuaries, Nigeria’s message to plotters and terrorists alike has been made clear in the skies over West Africa.