The Centre for Information, Technology and Development (CITAD), has advised the military to adopt technology in gathering intelligence towards tackling banditry and other security challenges facing Nigeria.

Prof. Yunusa Ya’u, Director, CITAD, said this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Monday.

Ya’u said that investigations had revealed that criminals were using local technology and intelligence to strike on innocent citizens.

“If bandits could use local objects as technology, there was also need for security agencies to use sophisticated technology and intelligence to counter them.

“They are waging a campaign of terror and violence using intelligence; this means that government counter insurgency must also be based on intelligence,” he said.

Ya’u also stressed the need for the government to use data collected by various agencies towards fighting crimes in Nigeria.

“Embracing digital technology is about equipping and reequipping our military and intelligence agencies,” he said.(NAN)

By Ismail Auwal

Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has called on Federal Government to embrace the use of digital technology in the fight against violence.

The Director of the center, Mallam Yunusa Zakari Yau, in a statement, said that Insecurity has today become too generalized in Nigeria that nowhere is safe in the country.

“Kidnapping, banditry, secessionist violence has all become common place that peace is the only illusive constant.”
He said that, “in the past our fear was of armed robbers. Now armed robbery appears to be the lesser evils. The business of kidnapping people has become an easy way to make money for all classes of criminals, insurgents and they with a cause that support violence.”

The center argued that the government and its security and law enforcement agencies have not shown the leadership that will inspire the citizens that indeed, they can beat this and restore peace in the country. Instead, they seem to be in a debate among themselves as to who can offer the most ridiculous explanation of their failure.

“One thing that is obvious is the increasing use of digital technology by the different assortments of merchants of violence in the country. They wage a campaign of terror and violence using intelligence, this means that government’s’ counter insurgency must also turn to be based on intelligence.”
Making effective use of intelligence requiring an elaborate capacity to deploy and use digital technology. sadly, we have not seen this in the way that army and other agencies are prosecuting the campaign against insurgents.

Embracing digital technology is about equipping and reequipping our army and intelligence agencies who have been underequipped now for quite some times. Part of the reason is the systematic corruptions that is embedded in the different national institutions of governance and security in the country,” he said.

According to the center, a foundation step is needed to dismantle the war-economy around the counter-insurgency efforts. The war-economy has been articulated by people and organizations that benefit from the situation to continue to allow the violence to continue with no interest in winning the battel.

“All these involved in feeding fat on the misery of the citizens should be brought to book. Once that is done, a lot of resources would be recovered to fund the reequipping of the army and security agencies to strategically counter the insurgents and bandits.”

Part of that reequipped is to deploy digital technology for intelligence gathering, processing and transfer to enable the effort be driven by intelligence and be well ahead of the insurgents.

Uses of technology

1. Drones to locate and eliminate insurgents and bandits
2. Monitoring the movement and activities of bandits and insurgents
3. Tracking money movement to see establish how they are funded and how they use money to support their activities
4. Locating and monitoring of the sites, camps and concentrations of insurgents and bandits
5. Tracking supplies and logistics
6. What government should do:
7. Develop, through consultation its Use of Technology for Counter Insurgency Plan and Strategy
8. dentity and address connectivity blind spots in the country, especially within environments where bandits and insurgents are operating
9. Empower citizens to use and access to technology so as to the best use of it
10. Develop a full characterisation of insurgents use of social media and track down their conversations using the identified markers
11. Develop, using internationally accepted standards, protocols for monitoring suspected insurgents
12. In doing these, government should not:
13. Indiscriminately monitor citizens to trample and desecrate their right to digital privacy
14.It must never mount a mass surveillance of is citizens because it is not only counterproductive and wasteful but also a derogation of the right of citizens to privacy
15. It must avoid the temptation to turn power of technology into weapon for political witch-hunt.
16. It must also have clear data protection policy. Right now there is too much a digital citizens’ personal data in the hands of so many agencies of government without clear rules of data collection, data storage, management and use as well as sharing. We do not know which third parties have access to this data, how it is use and for what purpose. The global standard is that data subject must know who use, for what use such data is put to.

Abba Dukawa :

The Executive Director Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Engineer Y.Z Yau  has frowned  at government’s failure through the security agencies to tackle insecurity in the country,

Instead, he said, they seem to be in a debate among themselves as to who can offer the explanation of their failure.

According to him “we are all aware that  insecurity across the country has made no where in Nigeria a safe place in the country as Kidnapping, banditry and  violence have all become common place that peace is the only illusive constant.

Engineer Y.Z Yau made the observation at a press conference held at CITAD Kano office on Wednesday.

He observed that for government to curtail the insecurity, there is need for security agencies to increase the use of digital technology in terms of intelligensia sharing among agencies to upfront merchants of violence in the country .

” Re-equipping our army and intelligence agencies who have been underequipped through this approach, will help reduce the nation security challenges.

” If these criminals can  wage a campaign of terror and violence using Technology and intelligence, this means that government’s’ counter insurgency must also turn to be based on intelligence, but we have not seen this in the way that army and other agencies are prosecuting the campaign against insurgents.

Engineer Y.Z Yau  added  What government should adopt Technology and intelligence,  need to develop, through consultation , Use of Technology for Counter Insurgency Plan and Strategy, Identity and address connectivity  black spots in the country, especially within environments where bandits and insurgents are operating

The statement further explains
developing a full characterisation of insurgents, use of social media and track down their conversations using the identified markers and also need for internationally accepted standards, protocols for monitoring suspected insurgents

In doing these, he said,  government should not indiscriminately monitor citizens to trample and desecrate their right to digital privacy.

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) is implementing a project entitled Supporting Community-led Approaches to Addressing the Digital Divide Nigeria coordinated globally by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) support from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through their Digital Access Programme (DAP).

This is part of a global project to catalyze the flourishing of community networks as a means of connecting the unconnected

The project focuses on selected locally managed community networks in three regions, Africa, Asia and Latin America, to strengthen their impact, reach and sustainability

This group of community networks will form the core of a peer community that can connect and broaden support for community-based connectivity initiatives, nationally, regionally and internationally

The project will achieve its objectives through peer learning and exchange, awareness raising, technical assistance, capacity building for the development of scalable, innovative and sustainable networks, policy and regulatory advocacy and community mobilization.

The training was held at CITAD office Jama’are branch on Tuesday 04^th May 2021, with 8 attendees from Itas DEX Initiatives, Jama’are Traders Association, Jama’are blowse Association, and Itas youth Association, opening remarks was said by Engineer Suhail CITAD Technical officer, he welcomed each and every one who attended the training he says that the purpose of the training is to aware and shows the benefits of the community networks to the peoples as well as how to start or build their own community networks,

The training slides has 9 modules, and started at 10:00am by Engineer Suhail with the introduction to community networks, what services community networks offers and types of community networks, he gives clear definition of community networks by the Internet Society (ISOC) and services that community networks offer like voice, data E.T.C and ended the section one of the training with discussion about the types of community networks and answering questions from the participants,

Goes to 30 minutes break from 11:30am to 12:00am after the section one of the training has ended

Back to the training Engineer Suhail continuous with the explanation on how to start community networks, what facilities or infrastructures needed in order to start community networks, and explanation on what regulatory conditions required for communities to start their own community networks,

And again goes to 30 minutes breaks from 1:30pm to 2:00pm, after the section two of the training completed

The last section of the training has started from 2:00pm by Engineer Suhail, he explains how the community network link themselves nationally and internationally, and ended the last section of the training by explaining the ways for community networks follows to solve sustainability issues, that is how the community networks continuous sustaining itself even without any support from others organizations like APC.

The whole training finished with the vote of thanks by the Engineer Suhail CITAD technical officer, he thanks everyone for attending the training and he encouraged these micro-organizations members to be very active and spend their time by acquiring new skills so that the project will successfully be achieved and implemented in their area.

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) is implementing a project entitled Supporting Community-led Approaches to Addressing the Digital Divide Nigeria coordinated globally by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) support from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through their Digital Access Programme (DAP).

This is part of a global project to catalyze the flourishing of community networks as a means of connecting the unconnected

The project focuses on selected locally managed community networks in three regions, Africa, Asia and Latin America, to strengthen their impact, reach and sustainability

This group of community networks will form the core of a peer community that can connect and broaden support for community-based connectivity initiatives, nationally, regionally and internationally

The project will achieve its objectives through peer learning and exchange, awareness raising, technical assistance, capacity building for the development of scalable, innovative and sustainable networks, policy and regulatory advocacy and community mobilisation.

The training was held at Dakwa Community Centre FCT on Wednesday 28^th April 2021, with 13 attendees, from Allah ye ba kowa Association Tungan ashere, Aye Bwaka Gwari Association, and Zaboda women Association Psepa, opening remarks was said by Engineer Suhail CITAD Technical officer, he welcomed each and every one who attended the training he says that the purpose of the training is to aware and shows the benefits of the community networks to the peoples as well as how to start or build their own community networks,

The training slides has 9 modules, and started at 10:00am by Engineer Suhail with the introduction to community networks, what services community networks offers and types of community networks, he gives clear definition of community networks by the Internet Society (ISOC) and services that community networks offer like voice, data E.T.C and ended the section one of the training with discussion about the types of community networks and answering questions from the participants,

Goes to 30 minutes break from 11:30am to 12:00am after the section one of the training has ended

Back to the training Engineer Suhail continuous with the explanation on how to start community networks, what facilities or infrastructures needed in order to start community networks, and explanation on what regulatory conditions required for communities to start their own community networks,

And again goes to 30 minutes breaks from 1:30pm to 2:00pm, after the section two of the training completed

The last section of the training has started from 2:00pm by Engineer Suhail, he explains how the community network link themselves nationally and internationally, and ended the last section of the training by explaining the ways for community networks follows to solve sustainability issues, that is how the community networks continuous sustaining itself even without any support from others organizations like APC.

The whole training finished with the vote of thanks from Malam YZ Ya’u Executive director CITAD, he thanks everyone for attending the training and he encouraged these micro-organizations members to be very active and spend their time by acquiring new skills so that the project will successfully be achieved and implemented in their area.

A ranar Alhamis 29 ga watan Aprilun shekarar 2021, cibiyar bunkasa fasahar sadarwa da cigaban a’lumma CITAD, ta gudanar da wata tattaunawa ta musamman akan yadda za a wayar da kan masu bukata ta musamman akan allurar rigakafin Korona.

A lokacin tattaunawar Malam Ado Sanusi Sabon Gida ya bayyana irin yadda cutar annobar Koronar ta shafi masu buƙata ta musamman a ɓangaren tattalin arziki da kuma walwala.

Idan ya bayyana cewa da yawan masu buƙata ta musamman sun rasa ayyukansu sakamakon sanya dokar kulle, wanda hakan ya mayar da su mabarata.

Haka kuma Ado Sanusi Sabon Gida ya zargi hukumar daÆ™ile yaÉ—uwar cututtuka ta Æ™asa NCDC akan yadda ta yi biris da masu buÆ™ata ta musamman a lokacin da ta ke aikin gangamin wayar da kan al’umma a game da cutar Korona.

Haka zalika, Ado Sanusi Sabon Gida ya ce tuntuni masu buƙata ta musamman na bin dokokin da Hukumomin lafiya su ka gindaya domin kariya daga cutar ta Korona. Ya lissafa cewa su kan yi amfani da Takunkumin rufe baki da hanci da kuma wanke hannu da ruwa mai sinadarin sanitaiza da bayar da kuma tazara.

Ya Æ™ara da cewa za su cigaba da wayar da kan masu buÆ™ata ta musamman akan amfanin karÉ“ar allurar riga-kafin cutar ta Korona, La’akari da irin alfanun da riga-kafin ke da shi da kuma hatsarin da cutar ke tattare da shi.