Are The CCTVs in FCT functioning?

Due to the spate of insecurity in the country, especially the attacks by Boko Haram, the federal government installed Closed-Circuit Television, CCTV in Abuja but they seem not to be working. What is responsible for the challenges? Chris Onokpegu asked.

FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed

Closed-circuit television, CCTV is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It is used mainly to monitor places such as banks, casinos, airports, military formations, government installations, convenience stores and other places.

The United States especially the New York City installed CCTV in order to deter crime that was occurring on daily basis. It was seen as a cheaper way to deter crime compared to increasing the size of the police departments.

Some businesses as well, especially those that were prone to theft, began to use video surveillance including housing projects, schools and public parks. Following the attacks on September 11, the use of video surveillance has become a common occurrence in the country to deter future terrorist attacks.

In Nigeria, it was not a common feature until banks were being robbed almost on daily basis. The installation of CCTV in banks helped to some extent stabilizes the activities of criminals around banks’ premises.

The increase rate of insecurity in the country especially the attacks by the Islamic religious sect, Boko Haram in the FCT on the Police headquarters, the UN building and other places, forced the federal government to quickly award the installation of CCTV in the territory.

Though the name of the company was not disclosed by the police authorities but information gathered shows that the contract was awarded by the federal government through the Police headquarters.

Investigation carried out revealed however that the CCTV contract was executed by ZTE Corporation and at the cost of $470 million.

Although, the House of Representatives mandated its joint committees on police, public procurement, aids, loans and debt management and information technology to investigate the level of compliance with due process in the award of the contract, nothing tangible came out of the probe of the installation of the CCTV cameras around major areas. It was further gathered that the company used substandard equipment in the installation.

Hon. Hassan Saleh representing Benue called for the investigation of the $470 million National Security Communications System, NPSCS, and the installation of close circuit television cameras in many strategic parts of the FCT.

He expressed worry that there has been allegation that the quality of materials used for the solar powered security cameras for the CCTV system are of substandard quality, and the poles used are very close to the ground making it an easy target by vandals compared to what the same company did in their home country, China and other countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and Malaysia.

A top police officer confided in our correspondent that the CCTV was initially planned to be installed and test-run during the 2011 April elections but because of the tussle on who to install it between the police and the FCTA, it was abandoned. It only resurfaced later for security use when Boko Haram struck twice in Abuja at the Force headquarters and the UN building.

It would be recalled that Saleh alleged on the floor of the House that ZTE Corporation insisted that the contractual details of the transaction with the federal government should not be made public and it is presently shrouded in secrecy, which is a clear violation of the doctrine of transparency, accountability and an infringement of the laws of our country.

However, a security expert, Frank Owhofa told The Hunters that the CCTV installed in the FCT are outdated. According to him, the ones installed by ZTE have been phased out. He claimed that the latest CCTV, when installed is not seen, because it is very minute and unseen.

Investigation carried out shows that the CCTV in the Police headquarters initially was functioning hence a car theft was thwarted some months back but developed a fault and was not repaired because the Police believe in manual way of policing.

Our source in the police headquarters told The Hunters that the contract for the repairs of the CCTV was awarded but was surprised that the device is not working hence when the bomb blast at the force headquarters took place; they were unable to identify the suspect.

Former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro disclosed that 40 close circuit cameras installed by the Nigeria Police in Abuja to enhance crime control in the city have since stopped functioning.

He acknowledged that most of the cameras are not working due to power failure in the city. He disclosed that they were planning to use solar energy because the CCTV serves as crime monitoring device. “Their functionality is a priority to the police as far as crime control is concerned.” Up till date, the solar energy has not been installed to power the CCTV devices in Abuja.

Former FCT public relations officer, Superintendent Moshood Jimoh told our correspondent that the CCTV devices were working before but they are only being upgraded to a higher definition by ZTE.

It is on record that Police has used CCTV images to track bank robbery syndicate. A banker who spoke on anonymity commended the installation of CCTV in Abuja because according to him, “I watched CCTV images of armed robbery live in my bank, the police used these images to capture a few of the armed gang members. This is a great development.”

A visit round the FCT shows that the CCTV is not working while the installation of others has been abandoned by the company. The company is not willing to speak with our correspondent because it has told the government to keep the details of the contract secret while the Police authorities are also keeping mute.

Information has it that the initial plan of the government was to extend the CCTV to the satellite towns especially those sharing boundaries with the FCT. According to our source in the presidential villa, the federal government planned to extend street lights and CCTV to Masaka, a suburb in Nasarawa state because of its closeness to the FCT hence the initial dualisation of the road.

Residents of the FCT have clamoured for the satellite towns to be included in the project if the FCTA and police really want to secure the city. Sunday Umukoro told our correspondent that if they in the satellite towns are excluded, it will create more security challenges to the territory because most of the residents in the satellite towns work in the city centre of the FCT.

A security expert, Bamidele Adeleye disclosed that the CCTV equipment can be used for many purposes apart from security. According to him, it could be used to conduct and monitor elections, disaster management and control, traffic control, oil installations or spillages amongst others.

His words, “CCTV equipment may be used to observe parts of a process from a central control room; for example, when the environment is not suitable for humans. In United Kingdom, there are reportedly more cameras per person than in any other country in the world.”

Adeleye said the inability of government to have collective database of Nigerians, might pose a serious challenge to the project. “In the advance world, they have a database which collects the entire video file for each day. If they notice a crime has happened, they inform the enforcement agencies which are connected to same frequency on the radio. These people get to the scene to see things for themselves.

“Then these experts in the central division will then work on the videos with the aid of different software and special hardware; they will be able to zoom the picture and clean the image to get the exact look of the perpetrator. The police check the past record of the perpetrator and then arrest him if he thinks nobody saw him in the act or declare him wanted, if he is at large.”

However, Adeleye believes the CCTV monitoring might be frustrated. He said the disadvantage is that they can manipulate the video, picture especially when it involves ‘powerful’ people in government. “They can delete files and claim an event never occur or manipulate the image to look like anyone they want to appear in the video or picture. In the case of Nigeria, I think any rich and powerful person can easily have access to such classified crime.

“A good video hacker can hack into any video source as long as it belongs to a visual network which is either connected to internet grid or not. So the first thing is to make sure that these cameras are protected. And the best form of protection is to have information technology security experts on board in other to override any attack.”

Meanwhile, a Nigerian based in the United States of America, USA, Yakubu Salihu, just designed an ultimate solution for holistic security via networking of SOLTICE CAM. This, according to him, is a wireless Powered Surveillance Camera for outdoors remote video monitoring. “It is a tested and proven modern technological innovation for dependable 24 hour surveillance (Day and Night).”

He further explained, “A single unit of the Hi-tech device has a multi-dimensional clear vision covering a distance of 30 kilometers. It has the amazing capacity to rotate (pan), tilt and zoom on images, recording and transmitting same to the control room streets and roads. The entire city can be put under surveillance and watched day and night. It is also connectible to the internet, which enables authorised government security operatives or designated officials to effectively monitor relayed images anywhere in the world.

“Each of the Soltice-Cam has 200 cameras. Each camera overlaps and captures every incident. From these 15 Soltice-Cams, all the nation’s security agencies would have been fed with monitors from where they would have been able to gather information to do their jobs better. A motorist who beats traffic would be recorded for the FRSC to book. All criminal acts committed in the dark would be captured.

All manners of criminal activities in the FCT including traffic offences, prostitution, car-jacking, kidnapping etc would have been a thing of the past. Yakubu’s technology would have captured fine details of the perpetrators. The SSS, DIA, NIA, Police, Army, Airforce, NSCDC, FRSC, etc would have gotten the information from the cozy fixtures of their office.

Definitely, the bombing of the Police headquarters would not have been possible because the perpetrators would have been in the net.

Incidentally, it was Yakubu’s technology that is presently being used by the American government.

However, some experts however argued that if the first CCTV system installed by Siemens AG at Test Stand VII in Peenemünde, Germany in 1942, for observing the launch of V-2 rockets and the company is still existing, why can’t they be invited to do the installation in the FCT?