Nigeria’s First Female Fighter Pilot Clinches Top Awards In Ghana
Flight Lieutenant Kafayat Omolara Sanni, Nigeria’s first female fighter pilot, has once again made history by emerging as the Best Allied Student and winner of the Best Assistant Commandant Paper at the prestigious Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Accra. The awards were presented on 20 June 2025, during the College’s graduation ceremony, attended by top military officials and dignitaries from across Africa.
Flt Lt Sanni’s impressive records first made headlines in 2019 when she was decorated as the Nigerian Air Force’s (NAF) first female fighter pilot after completing her pilot training in the United States. Since then, she has flown the Alpha Jet as well as undertaken training sorties on the Super Mushshak as a prolific instructor pilot, producing and mentoring younger pilots for the NAF.
Her outstanding performance at GAFCSC not only symbolizes personal excellence and resilience but also underscores Nigeria’s growing leadership in regional defence and commitment to gender inclusion in the armed forces. This remarkable achievement further reflects the Nigerian Air Force’s strategic investment in human capital development under the visionary leadership of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar.
