How ICT can curb banditry, Kidnapping, Insurgency, by stakeholders

…Call for increased funding of sector

Ladesope Ladelokun

Following the public outcry and worry sparked by the nagging security problems that beset Nigeria at the moment, stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry have advocated the adoption of technology by the Federal Government to stem the tide of insecurity in Nigeria.

This, they say, is consistent with the practice the world as no meaningful progress can be made as far as the fight against insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other security issues creating an atmosphere of palpable fear and threatening to tear the country apart is concerned.

In an interview with The Daily Times, Chairman, Board of Trustees and President of African ICT Foundation, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said it was time Nigeria sought the assistance of countries with the capacity to tackle the security challenges bedevilling Nigeria.

Ojobo opined that with the deployment of satellite technology and drones that cannot be detected, kidnappers, bandits and other criminals can be easily nabbed.

Also, the former Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said acquiring the National Identity Card was critical to taming the rising tide of insecurity, adding that technology was the way to go to bring the current spate of insecurity under control but noted that there must be the political will to deploy it.

Corroborating his position on the indispensability of technology in finding a lasting solution to the problems of insecurity with a reported case of the untimely death of a University of Abuja student and the suspected role his colleagues played, he said:

“You heard about the incident at the dome in Abuja about University of Abuja students and how three of them watched their friends drown in the bush because they said they were envious of him. How was that?

Apparently, they didn’t know there was CCTV. The CCTV captured everything that happened, including how they watched him drown.

And one of them took his trousers, removed the money that was in his pocket, took his phone and wore his shoes. If the hotel didn’t have CCTV, that would have been the end of that.

“But when this thing happened, the hotel reported the matter to the police and so when they came, they played back the CCTV and saw when the boy was struggling and how they watched him and how one of them wanted to rescue him but was restrained by the other two.

This is just an example. Can you imagine, for instance, if we have CCTV all around the cities in this country along all the routes?”

Commenting on the matter, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria(ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, said the Federal Government needs to collaborate with the NCC, the Department of State Services (DSS), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC),Customs, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS),the Police and the military so that there can be an improvement in the level of intelligence gathering, stating that intelligence gathering can be improved through data.

According to Teniola, NIMC needs to ensure it has valid information and also make sure that the birth certificate associated with the registration can be checked, adding that the government needs to as quickly as possible introduce a digital address system.

“The Federal Government needs to introduce a digital address system so that the exact location of someone’s house, or where a person resides, whether it’s in the bush is being pointed out via Google map so that we can pinpoint the exact location of these perpetrators.

We also have to ensure that when the incident happens, if the kidnappers are using their mobile phones that the original Call ID associated with the phone is delivered to the intelligence agencies.”

On why NIMC must ensure its database has valid information, he explained: “It needs to be up to date with the Information of the address of the person they have registered, the mobile number they use and to also ensure that the birth certificates that are associated with the registration can be checked so that when the incidence of crime is enacted,

there can be corroboration between information in NIMC information on the SIM registration database and past records of criminals that the police, military are aware of.”

Meanwhile, stakeholders in the sector agree that adequate funding of the ICT sector is needed to address the myriad of problems confronting the country, especially in security.

Expressing concern about the poor funding of the ICT sector, AFICTF helmsman, Ojobo, called for increased funding of the sector to not only tackle the menace of insecurity but the address the disturbing rate of unemployment.

Also, at the presentation of the Nigerian Smart Initiatives Policy Framework (NSIPF) draft to stakeholders in Abuja, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Pantami, advocated a robust investment by the government and critical stakeholders in the sector, noting that Nigeria must make conscious and practical efforts to improve investments in the tech industry.