Technology Solutions For Tackling Nigeria’s Security Challenges

Exploring some technology solutions to address insecurity in Nigeria. Covering a summary of Nigeria’s security challenges and some tech-based solutions suited to the local environment

Overview of Nigeria’s Security Challenges

For many decades, Nigeria has increasingly faced complex security challenges, including ethnic violence, conflicts between herders and farmers, armed robbery, kidnappings and terrorism. Countless precious lives have been lost to the dire security situation, and many have been displaced from their homes, farms and livelihood, living as refugees in their country. Various commentators have widely reported that the insecurity is rooted in the long history of unresolved issues covering social unrest, political inequality, tribalism, resource control, economic deprivation, long-held feelings of injustice, unemployment, high cost of living etc. A recent poll released in Apr 2022 by NexTier, a digital communications firm, puts insecurity at the top of the challenges in Nigeria, followed by other contributory factors such as those mentioned above.

Whilst we acknowledge that an enduring solution to the national security issues must bluntly address the mentioned root causes, the focus of this post is to review how those who manage the nation’s security apparatus and the Nigerian law enforcement agencies can be buoyed by technology to address the tactical aspects of insecurity and protect the lives and properties of citizens.

Security Tech Development

As conveyed in an article by Chukwuemeka Agbata Jnr, a technology entrepreneur, in the Punch newspaper dated 10 October 2021:

“World leaders are setting up integrated frameworks to allow them to adopt and deploy technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), to strengthen their national security infrastructure. Thanks to the emerging field of AI, modern tools like surveillance cameras, social network analysis, biometric surveillance, data mining and profiling, corporate surveillance, satellite imagery, RFID and Geo-location devices have become available.”

He highlights the Nigerian budding technology sector and its capability to develop an appropriate security system suited to the local environment.

Speaking of appropriate technology, it is essential to note that electrical power is an integral part of security systems; without it, nothing would work. Consequently, a key constraint to deploying available security solutions is the country’s intermittent or non-existent electricity supply. Another restriction is the limited internet service or wireless comms coverage across the country, resulting in more reliance on wired connections or alternative communication means. Therefore, any security solutions considered will need to be appropriately adapted. These constraints, especially power supply, require special attention for a permanent solution.

Tech-based solutions for Nigeria

Nigerian security agencies need to be appropriately equipped and trained to respond to and fight insecurity effectively. Therefore, this post seeks to contribute to ongoing debates about available technological tools and how they can best be deployed to address insecurity in Nigeria.

Here are some examples of existing and emerging solutions.

Drones

These remotely operated flying objects with a monitored camera have many applications and could be particularly useful for tackling insecurity in Nigeria. For example, in tracking the movements of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers etc., known to take refuge in areas that are not easily accessible for security operatives, such as forests and undulating terrains. When equipped with high-precision, high-quality thermal cameras, criminals can even be tracked under cover of darkness.

It has been reported that a Nigerian Robotic Engineer, Dr Olusola Ayoola, the founder of Robotic and Artificial Intelligence Nigeria (RAIN), an indigenous Artificial Intelligence firm, has developed a Carbon Emission Tracker Drone (CETD) for aerial surveillance to detect criminals within forests. CETD can detect carbon emitted during human activity and utilises the geo-spatial intelligence technology capable of scanning landmass, forests, game reserves and other uninhabited spaces to detect and arrest criminal activities. Nigeria’s defence and security authorities should support the likes of RAIN and other local tech companies with further development, testing and deployment of these emerging technologies.

It is worth mentioning that drones can also be weaponised to strike targets. These are generally known as unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV); these can carry aircraft ordnance such as an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) or bombs.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) 

Using video cameras to transmit footage is an established surveillance system; they can work with various security technologies as a deterrent, interdiction and forensic services to collate evidence after an incident. The latter has improved with better recording/storage technologies and video analytics to recognise temporal and spatial events such as suspicious movement automatically.

CCTV can be integrated with alarm systems, monitoring devices, and access control devices and offers face recognition functionality. And can now help security agencies recognise and disrupt security breaches before they happen or are happening.

Given the unstable electricity in Nigeria, the off-grid solar powered security & CCTV systems are an attractive option. CCTV is an ideal application for solar or wind power due to its remote nature and the low power requirement of energy-efficient cameras. Such technology does not require vast power or data cables at high costs over a wide area. A stand-alone solar-powered CCTV system will continue to operate during an outage of the national grid or the loss of power supply.

Biometrics 

Biometrics are physical characteristics or biological measurements that can recognise people. Fingerprint mapping, retina scans, and facial recognition are part of biometric technology. Biometrics are becoming an advanced layer to numerous personal and enterprise security systems. Biometrics have more advantages over other means of personal identification because they use the inherent attributes of individuals to recognise them.

The biometric enrollment of every citizen can significantly help national security. Biometrics will ensure that threats are recognised and subdued before any incident happens. For example, a terrorist can be easily identified using their fingerprints and unconfirmed voiceprints. Organisers of threats to national security can change their names, location, appearance, etc., but it’s near impossible to change their biometric identifiers. It is noted that some of the insecurity challenges faced by Nigeria are trans-border in nature, e.g., the alignment of local and external terrorist groups, e.g., Boko Haram and ISIS; the farmer /herders conflicts fueled by the inflow of arms from war-ravaged areas in Africa, etc. Hence a need for close monitoring of migration. Biometric enrollment of people who can threaten national security is crucial. Once the country has the biometric identifier of these terrorists, they can be tracked and located. The amount of information and its correctness can significantly improve national security. However, the use of this tech must not infringe on the rights and liberty of law-abiding citizens.

Cybersecurity 

The prevalent use of computer systems, networks and the internet comes with the risks of cyber threats. The primary purpose of cybersecurity is to protect the systems, data and hardware from malicious attacks, unauthorised access, theft, or damage. With increased internet connectivity for private and government services, including banks, military locations, hospitals, research agencies etc., systems and networks become targets for hackers to steal valuable and confidential information and data through phishing, ransomware, malware, etc. It is acknowledged that Nigeria has a growing talent versed in cybersecurity solutions such as encryption, data loss prevention, firewalls, access management, etc. We boldly say that Government and private operators require more investment to improve cybersecurity.

Final Thoughts

Nigeria needs to implement the right technologies with local adaptations to improve security. Nigerian scientists and engineers have more work to do in developing the appropriate solutions for tackling the security problems of Nigeria. Some, if not many, of the technologies discussed above are either already in use, accessible or within reach of the Nigerian government. Combining such tools with active, well-trained intelligence agencies will hugely aid the fight against insecurity. Furthermore, as noted above, some of the insecurity challenges faced are trans-border; these issues must therefore be reflected in the governments’ foreign policy strategy to address insecurity and place the country on the path to sustainable growth.

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