Two years after the completion of a
$470m (N76.bn) National Public Security Communications System
Project in Abuja, most of the installed 1,000 cameras for the
Closed-Circuit Television in the city have either been vandalised or
stolen, investigation by Saturday PUNCH has revealed.
Checks showed that the solar panels and
batteries of the CCTV had been stolen while some cameras that were
installed along the expressways and major roads in the city had been
crushed by vehicles involved in accidents.
The contract for the NPSCS project was
awarded by the Federal Government to provide a secure and independent
multimedia communications system for the police and other security
agencies in the country.
The project was aimed at providing
voice, video and data using the Code Division Multiple Access technology
to enable security agencies to combat terrorism and other violent
crimes in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and other cities across
the nation.
The project consisted of five main
components including Global Open Trunking Architecture subsystem which
would operate through two Main Switch Centres with one each in Abuja and
Lagos as well as 12 Base Station Controllers and 675 Base Transmitting
Station sites that would provide the Internet Protocol for the various
applications to which the project could be applied.
The GOTA was also expected to support
the deployment of 1,500,000 subscriber lines. The system also comprised
the e-policing sub-system, which was expected to facilitate the
deployment of e-policing databases; Video Conferencing subsystem which
would provide for video conferencing by all the commands of the Nigeria
Police Force with the Force Headquarters and among themselves; and a
Coalition Emergency Response subsystem which would empower emergency
response and provide a national platform for emergency calls by citizens
to the Nigeria Police nationwide. Under this subsystem, six mobile
emergency communication vehicles were deployed.
The project, which was handled by a Chinese firm, ZTE Corporation, at a cost of $470m, was completed in 2012.
The Managing Director of ZTE Nigeria, Mr.
Hao Fuqiang, had said in an interview that every aspect of the project
had been tested, completed and handed over to the government.
“Every component of the project has been
completed, tested and handed over to the Nigerian government. They are
all working in perfect condition. Yes, we had challenges at the
beginning of the project, but they were all addressed and I am proud to
say that ZTE has helped to build modern architecture for public security
in Nigeria,” he had stated.
The Vice-President, Namadi Sambo, while
inspecting some of the PSCS facilities at the Police Force Headquarters
in Abuja, had also expressed satisfaction and happiness with the way the
new security platform was being operated, and assured Nigerians that it
would check criminal activities in the country.
“I must say that I am highly impressed.
This is one of the security supports that are necessary and I am pleased
that Mr. President has given approval for the Nigeria Police to acquire
the sophisticated and necessary security surveillance system. I can see
the whole of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Abuja Airport and so many
things, through the equipment,” the Vice-President had said.
But investigations by Saturday PUNCH
showed that the security agencies had been unable to deploy the system
in checking terrorism, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the
country.
Checks showed that the Video
Surveillance Cameras Monitor and the Video Conference Terminal at the
Force headquarters, Abuja Main Switch Centre, had been largely dormant
due to lack of video feed from installed cameras, most of which are not
functional.
Further findings showed that many of the
installed 1,000 Close Circuit Television (cameras) apart from covering
limited areas of the city had never worked while most of them had been
vandalised and their parts stolen.
It was learnt that the installed cameras
covered only areas inhabited by influential Nigerians and districts
where important facilities and institutions were located like the
Central Business District, Asokoro, Maitama and major roads and
junctions in the city.
It was further learnt that the CCTVs were
not installed in satellite towns such as Kuje, Kubwa, Nyanya, Karu and
other areas where average people and low income earners live.
But low income areas in the Federal
Capital Territory with dense population are prone to violent crimes like
armed robbery, kidnapping, and burglary.
Checks indicated that such areas as
Nyanya, Kubwa, Kuje, Bwari, Zuba, Jikwoyi, Karu and other satellite
towns record higher crime rates than areas inhabited by the rich and the
affluent like Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse, and the Central Business District
which are well policed by security personnel.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the contractor used sub-standard materials for the CCTV project compared to what it installed in other countries.
A security source told one of our
correspondents that the contractor did not make provision for back-up
infrastructure and spare parts for the cameras, solar panels and
batteries, adding that many of the cameras that packed up could not be
repaired due to lack of spare parts.
It was gathered that the video-conference
sub-system of the project could not be activated due to disagreement
between the contractor and the government over the non-allocation of the
450 MHz frequency for the use of the sub-system.
Sambo, had in 2013 directed the Nigerian
Communications Commission to allow ZTE to utilise the high value
spectrum for the NPSCS project, but it could not be confirmed if the
directive had been complied with.
The police could not be reached for
comments as the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, did not
respond to repeated calls to his phone. He also failed to respond to
several text messages sent to his phone.
But the Nigerian Communications Satellite
Limited, which served as the consultant to the surveillance project,
said that it played only a minimal role as the contractual relationship
was between the Police Service Commission and the ZTE.
Head of Corporate Affairs at NigComSat
Limited, Mr. Sonny Aragba-Akpore, told one of our correspondents that
NigComSat was only asked to supervise what the Chinese company was doing
as a government technology firm.
He said, “The Federal Government awarded
the contract to the Chinese company. It was not a NigComSat project.
NigComSat only served as a consultant to the project. Even then, no
consultancy fee had been paid till date.
“No document was signed between NigComSat
and anybody and no payment was made. There was only a letter asking
NigComSat to supervise the installations as government’s technology
company. The NigComSat staff that went there were never paid a dime
till date.
“The project belongs to the Police
Service Commission and people there are the ones that can speak
authoritatively on it. The information that I have is that ZTE has
handed over the project to the Police Service Commission. So they are
the ones that can say whether the project is working or not.”
But when contacted, the Assistant
Director, Media, Police Service Commission, Ferdinand Ekpe, said he
knew nothing about the project, adding that the only capital project
being handled by the commission was the construction of its national
headquarters.
The Ministry of Police Affairs spokesman,
James Odaudu, could not be reached for comments as he refused to
respond to repeated calls to his phone on Thursday. Also, a text message
sent to him did not elicit any reply as of the time of filing this
report.
However, a retired Commissioner of
Police, Abubakar Tsav, described the project as an avenue for people to
embezzle funds, noting that “this government is just making money
available for people to steal.”
According to him, the NPSCS, if well managed, could assist security agencies to stem the tide of terrorism and criminality.
He, however, observed that the various
bomb blasts and attacks might not have been perpetrated by the violent
Islamic sect, Boko Haram, but by those who were profiting from the
insecurity in the country.
A security expert, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe,
noted that the shoddy manner the project was carried out showed that
the government was not serious about combating terrorism and other
violent crimes in the country.
According to him, the NPSCS project
should have put in place quality security cameras that can withstand
rough handling and inclement weather, with strong back-up system and
spare parts.
“As far as I am concerned, the campaign
against terrorists cannot be won until we are able to nip things in the
bud. Fighting terrorism is like a leaking pump; until you lock the pump,
the water won’t stop, bailing the water is not the solution, but
closing the pump or blocking the leaking point. Setting up a
Counter-Terrorism Unit is still the best way to fight this problem to a
standstill,” he stated.
The Chairman, Egalitarian Mission Africa, a non- governmental organisation, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, described the contract as a scam.
He said, “The project is entirely
rubbish. It is a scam of sort. Where are the CCTV cameras when I was
kidnapped in Abuja the other time. Why didn’t any of them record the
incident to give the police, clue on what actually happened?
“Some of the cameras were mounted in my
area in Gwarimpa and there had been three cases of car thefts which were
not recorded by the cameras. There is even no electricity, no generator
or solar device to power them. It’s all rubbish.”
The National Coordinator, Proactive
Gender Initiatives, Esther Uzoma, called on the government to rekindle a
strong sense of patriotism in the security personnel, stressing that
“Nigeria must be worth dying for.”
According to her, the flagrant display of vulgar wealth in the midst of abject poverty must stop.
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