UPDATED: FG to deploy drones, CCTVs to tackle insecurity in S’West

The federal government will deploy drones and Close Circuit Televisions, to monitor forests and tackle insecurity in Southwest. This is part of strategies to increase the use of technology in fighting insecurity particularly in the northwest.

Defence Correspondent, Sifon Essien reports that the use of CCTV provides a veritable means of surveillance in crime fighting.

In Nigeria, CCTVs were deployed in Lagos and Abuja as part of a National Public Security Communication System from 2010. The project now comatose aided law enforcement agencies like the police in crime detection. And now, the government is considering reviving the project.

CCTV is part of a technology-driven approach in crime detection and fighting. In the northeast, the Nigerian Military authorities are deploying several platform in the fight against insurgency.

Apart from manned aircraft, the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or Drones help the troops maintain dominance in the sky.

Beyond carrying out strikes, indigenously developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles like the Gulma and the Tsegumi have proven to be game changers
in the fight against insurgency.

The Nigerian Army is also advancing the use of drones for surveillance. The use of technology for intelligence gathering necessitated the establishment of Geospatial Intelligence Centres at the Nigerian Air Force headquarters and the Defence Intelligence Agency in Abuja.

But Security Analyst, Kabir Adamu, stressed that the use of technology in crime fighting can only be effective if it is complimented with timely human intelligence.

While the government is advancing in the use of technology for security purposes, the need for effective coordination among agencies is key.