Politics, corruption overshadow $470m security tech project

As Nigerians die almost daily from preventable serial bomb blasts, government has shown it is either playing politics with, or has deliberately looked away from the Nigerian Public Security Communications System  (NPSCS) that could significantly enhance security in Abuja and most cities across the country.

It was learnt that some of the multi-million naira installed equipment, including cameras, are of low quality and are already getting dilapidated, while some are being stolen without watch.

The poor handling of the Public Security Communications System (PSCS) project, which was to help increase surveillance and improve

security checks across the country, is now raising questions about government’s seriousness in fighting insurgency and insecurity.

The concern now is that like several projects initiated in the country that are never followed through after the contracts are awarded, the $470 million project which the Chinese Contractor- ZTE Corporation claims it had completed and handed over to government since 2012 and was subsequently certified by the relevant government agencies, appears not very functional to detect or prevent crime, and is almost abandoned.

Findings show that this project has been shabbily handled and that some people are already scheming to re-award the already completed contract, instead of building on the structures the earlier contractor – ZTE already provided and making sure it works optimally. The Presidency is said to be under pressure from loyalists to re-award the contract.

A source close to the project told businessDay: “ many people are now pressuring the Presidency to re-award the contract, instead of looking at how to make the infrastructure on ground work”.

There have been several reports raising concerns that the PCSC project which could secure Abuja and indeed the entire nation, was poorly handled, and therefore cannot deliver results, due to massive corruption in the execution of the project. Yet Nigerian authorities are yet to be seen or heard raise protest against such allegations, or even address mounting concerns.

Initiated by the Late President Umar’ Yar Adua administration, the Public Security Communications System (PSCS) is a $470 million project funded through a finance agreement between the Nigerian government and the China Export-Import Bank, but implemented by a Chinese telecom equipment company, ZTE.

The first of the five components is the Global Open Truncking Architecture (GoTa) subsystem, which involves the deployment of 696 base transceiver stations (BTS) nation-wide. The network supports the deployment of 1,500,000 subscriber lines.  GoTa solution has been widely deployed in over 40 countries.

The second aspect of the PSCS is the Video Surveillance Subsystem (VSS) which is the most noticeable component of the project with the installation of 1,000 cameras each in Abuja and Lagos. Video images captured by the cameras can be stored for more than one month, and thereafter, be transferred to the system’s database for archiving.

The third aspect is the Coalition Emergency Response (CERS) Subsystem which supports the Police call center for emergency information. This sub-system allows quick response in emergency situations by emergency services.  It provides a national platform for emergency calls by citizens to the Nigeria Police nationwide. Under this subsystem, mobile emergency communication vehicles (EVCs) may be deployed in emergency situations when commercial communications networks are incapacitated.

The fourth component is the vital E-policing Subsystem, which is to facilitate the deployment of E-policing databases, while the fifth component is the Video Conferencing subsystem which should enable video conferencing by all commands of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with the Force Headquarters (FHQ) and among themselves.

It was even reliably gathered for instance, that the six emergency communication vehicles which are meant for regional use, are still parked at the Force Headquarters and are yet to be deployed for use since 2012.

Meanwhile, some of the installed cameras in Abuja and Lagos are damaged, and have not been replaced, while in some instances; some of the batteries are being removed by hoodlums.

But the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, recently claimed that the Close Circuit TV Cameras installed in various parts of Abuja are functional, adding that the facility had assisted security agencies in checking crime and criminality in the Federal Capital Territory.

The minister, however admitted that the security cameras were not installed in all parts of the city, noting that this was why security agencies were unable to prevent the April 14, 2014 blast in Nyanya, a satellite town in FCT.

Speaking with BusinessDAY, police image maker, Frank Mba, an assistant commissioner of police, confirmed that the six E-Emergency communication Vehicles are parked at the force headquarters but explained the vehicles are deployed when the need arises, like during political parties’ conventions and during the World Economic Forum held in Abuja.

Since the first bomb explosion in the FCT carried out by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, (MEND) on 1st October, 2010, there have been a number of others in the city which is expected to be the most secure in the country. The blasts in all claimed no fewer than 150 lives and injured scores.

Besides Abuja, serial bomb blasts are almost a daily event in the north -eastern part of the country, particularly Borno state.