COAS, Retired IGPs, Other Experts Commend VGS on Innovative Response to Security Challenges
Three retired Inspectors General of Police, serving military chiefs and other stakeholders on Wednesday commended the management of Vigiscope Limited for its application called the VGS Quick Emergency Reporting and Response System (QERRS) which is an innovation to enhance quick response to security and other emergency challenges in the country.
At an interactive forum held at Barcelona Hotel, Abuja which was chaired by former IGP MD Abubakar, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), retired IGP Mike Okiro, retired Commissioner of Police for FCT, Lawrence Alobi among several others were of the consensus that the introduction of ‘Swipe to Safety,’ a Surveillance Security and Communication System that enables quick response during emergencies is a revolution that would go a long way in assisting the Police and other relevant security agencies to reduce the gap in response time during incidences like robbery attacks, terrorism, fire outbreak, kidnapping, rape and other related emergencies.
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In his remark, Brigadier Gen. C I Dewua who represented the Chief of Army Staff praised Vigiscope, saying technological innovation is the way to go in today’s world in solving security challenges, adding that the company has broken records with its APP which he observed complied with local content requirements of the Federal Government.
While speaking, Chairman of the Forum, MD Abubakar said VGS has shown the pathway to Nigeria on how to tackle the nation’s security challenges. He urged individuals, organizations, federal and state governments as well as corporate institutions to embrace and patronize the technology to enhance their security and operations.
The former Police boss also noted the need for government agencies and individuals to increase support for the Police and other security outfits in the area of operational vehicles and other materials which he said are needed for quick response when the need arises.
He added that while the APP is for all security agencies, there is the need for their collaboration in order to achieve greater results in the fight against crimes in the country.
Others who spoke in praise of VGS include the representatives of the Secretary to the Federal Government, Inspector General of Police, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, the Director General of Department of State Security (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade and Industry, among others.
In a remark, Chairman of Vigiscope Limited, Engr. Steve Olu said the company was moved to research and come up with the innovation in as a patriotic contribution to the efforts by government to solve security and other emergency challenges, adding that the ‘Swipe to Safely’ application is easy to operate and have the capacity to trigger instant alert when activated.
The Special Adviser on Security matters to Kogi State government, Mr. Olorunfemi testified that a collaboration with VGS Limited on the application played major role in curbing banditry and kidnapping which was rampant in the state before its introduction, submitting therefore that ‘Strike to Safety’ was a sure way to addressing security challenges in the country.
it was Earlier in his opening remark, the Managing Director, Vigiscope Limited Richard Akanmode said the VGS Quick Emergency Reporting and Response System was introduced in view of the growing safety and security challenges globally and in line with the trend of adapting technology to address various aspects of living, adding that the company was publicly intruding the APP to the Nigerian market to enable the people subscribe to it for their safety.
“The GERRS is a web based safety and incident management application that makes it possible for a person in distress or at an incident point to swipe on the application and trigger the report of an occurrence. It is also a friendly tool for monitoring locations and keeping surveillance on places of interest. It offers access to live streaming of situations as they occur. The app has an inbuilt navigation component that can direct responders to points of interest, thereby facilitating prompt response, efficient coordination and protection of the response personnel. It is therefore, a stand alone, end to end solution and a web based dispatch for quick emergency reporting of incidents by private citizens for the prompt action of relevant responders,” Engr. Akanmode said.
According to him, the Strike to Safety application functions on a tripod in a tunnel which include the reporter, the dispatcher and the responder, adding that the QERRS is a veritable for enhancing personal and corporate safety, incident management, security surveillance and emergency coordination.
He said that the company has already set up control/reporting centers in Abuja, Lagos, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Enugu, Adamawa and River state adding that more states are being connected to ensure that all parts of the country are adequately covered.
“The app is however usable all over the country. We have already presented this app to security agencies, corporate bodies and individuals, some whom have subscribed to this app. Some state governments have also made bulk subscriptions for their citizens to further enhance security and public safety,” Akanmode concluded.
