The Air Force War College Nigeria (AFWCN) on Friday, 18 September 2026, graduated 45 senior officers of Air War Course (AWC) 12/2026 after nine months of intensive professional military education, strategic analysis and operational engagements.
The graduands comprised officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and four allied countries—Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana and the Kingdom of Morocco.
Delivering the keynote address at the Tenth Anniversary Special Graduation Ceremony, the Special Guest of Honour, the Honourable Minister of Defence, General CG Musa (Rtd) OFR, represented by the Senior Adviser to the HMOD on Research and Development, Major General C Ofoche (Rtd), charged the graduates to regard their graduation as an assumption of greater responsibility.
He urged them to transform knowledge into sound planning, decision-making and leadership, while championing jointness and unity of effort and harnessing emerging technologies alongside sound doctrine, capable personnel and resilient logistics.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Air Vice Marshal AY Abdullahi, reaffirmed the Nigerian Air Force’s commitment to professional training and mission-focused capability development.
The CAS, who noted that the graduation coincided with the College’s Tenth Anniversary, commended AFWCN for its contribution to professional military education and growing participation by Nigerian and allied officers.
He disclosed that construction of the College’s permanent site in Abuja was ongoing, with the next Air War Course expected to commence there.
He also highlighted ongoing NAF fleet modernisation and the imperative of enhanced jointness and interoperability.
Earlier, the Commandant, AFWCN, Air Vice Marshal GA Mbaka, described the graduation as a significant milestone in the College’s decade-long contribution to operational-level military education.
He also stressed the need for military leaders to understand the wider political, economic, technological and social dimensions of contemporary security challenges.
Highlights of the ceremony included the conferment of AFWCN Fellowship on the graduands and past Commandants, presentation of certificates and awards, inauguration of the AFWCN Alumni Association, and the launch of the Second Edition of the Airpower Magazine and the Tenth Anniversary Year Book.
Established in Makurdi in September 2016, AFWCN is the Nigerian Air Force’s highest professional military institution for training senior officers in the effective employment of airpower, with AWC 12/2026 marking both the completion of the Course and a decade of professional military education at the College.
