As a result of the alarming concerns by the federal government and security officials, for the protection of lives and properties and most especially with the major worries by citizens of the federation resulting from incessant kidnapping in Nigeria, extortion, robbery attacks even killings and in other peculiar cases police brutality on the highways, the federal government has deemed it necessary to install CCTV on all over majority of the roads within the country.
The proposed move by the FG was made known to the general public through the minister of police affairs Muhammad Dingyadi, who disclosed that the federal government will install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras on major highways across the country to curb the rising cases of kidnapping in Nigeria.
According to the minister who spoke about the new development on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Tuesday, February 17 2021 where he emphatically claimed that the number one citizen of the nation,, president Buhari, has decided to reinvigorate the earlier neglected CCTV project in order to address the security challenges in the country.
Dingyadi further informed the public that the federal government has entered a concession agreement with NPS Technology Company to refix the abandoned CCTV project.
“We are moving forward like you are aware that N470 billion CCTV project that has been abandoned, Mr. President has now given the go-ahead to resuscitate the project and we have entered a concession agreement with NPS technologies,” he said.
“They are trying to refix the entire system to resuscitate it, empower it and to ensure that they make the basis to generate revenue, that will pay this loan and give some revenue into the government coffers, so by the time the system is put in place, we would have a lot of technology to manage some of these crises and particularly issue of kidnapping.”
When the police affairs minister was quizzed about whether the CCTV cameras will only be in the city centre in Abuja or major highways, the police affairs minister said: “It is going to be on the major highways in all the city centres in all the states of the federation, it is everywhere in this country.”
Moreso, he said the company in charge of the CCTV project is has began the process of purchasing the needed equipment for the project.
“We’re trying to resuscitate it, this company is already going into action to ensure that they purchase the needed equipment that have been dilapidated or destroyed,” he said.
Kidnapping in Nigeria: Police needs assistance
The minister of police affairs concluded by stating that the police are willing to partner with any individual group or organisation who has the potential and technical skills to assist in gathering intelligence and informations that could always help in effective eradication of crimes and criminal activities.
Gift Joseph Okpakorese
Staff Writer
