NIGCOMSAT, Defence Ministry Mull Additional Satellites To Tackle Insecurity

The Nigerian Communication Satellite Limited (NigComSat), the Ministry of Defence and other stakeholders are considering launching more satellites to assist the military in the war against insecurity in the country.

NigComSat is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy.

The initiative was part of the dialogue at the Stakeholders Forum 2024 with the theme: “Harnessing Communication Satellites for Sustainable Development”, as part of the Satellite Week organised by NigComSat in Abuja on Thursday.

Managing Director/CEO of NigComSat, Jane Egerton-Idehen, told reporters in an interview that, “Communication satellites can help the defense sector and the support services for our security agencies.”

She said that the agency brought different sectors together to brainstorm on how to use satellite imagery to serve the nation better, improve its security and enhance its development.

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Egerton-Idehen added that the collaboration was based on Public Private Partnership (PPP), involving industry experts with genuine efforts to build the nation.

She noted that in modern times, the rules of engagement have changed, and it has become incumbent on nations to build, own and manage their own satellite system.

“Therefore, as Nigerians we must own and manage our satellite system and strengthen the services that it delivers to those sectors,” she said.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Ibrahim Kana, told reporters on the sidelines of the event, that the partnership with NigComSat could not have come at a better time especially for defence purposes.

He said, “One of the key aspects of the military is intelligence gathering and without satellites, our work will be restricted. Our troops move around, and they need to communicate, and we need satellites to do that. Our troops need to identify where our enemies are.

“Right now, we have moved from normal military operations to advanced operations with the use of drones and without satellites, we cannot operate our drones.

“Therefore, our partnership with NigComSat will see the launching of more satellites. Right now, the Ministry of Defence has one satellite in space, the SAT 1 that is only able to give us geospatial imagery within the area of our operation. But with the launching of more satellites, we are going to have real-time information, real-time imagery and we can monitor our enemies, especially the bandits. We have to launch more satellites to secure our country.”