The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) alongside the Nigerian Army is set to deploy a modern method of intelligence gathering to curb the menace of insurgency in the country.
The NITDA, through its National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), will join forces with the military to manufacture locally-made military equipment to fight banditry and other forms of insecurity.
The initiative is to provide first-hand intelligence gathering to the nation’s security architecture using technology and digital-driven methods aimed at bringing an end to the incessant security threats in the country, Daily Trust reports.
This was made known by the NCAIR Director, Ya’u Garba Isa when he received the Rector, Nigerian Army College of Environmental Science and Technology (NACEST) Markudi, Benue State, Brigadier General Yahaya H Abdulhamid, at his office in Abuja on Thursday.
Isa, in a statement issued by NITDA, said: “Collaboration with the military will open a huge opportunity for the Center to explore manufacturing of locally made military hardware that will be used in fighting criminal elements.”
He further stated that NCAIR, as a digital innovation and research facility, is focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics and Drones, Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging technologies that can be deployed to a mission area to provide intelligence reports.
He added that the centre is also looking into the possibility of producing ‘Digital Grenade’ that can be used with ‘Wireless Censored Network’ in detecting some vital information in the field during operations.
“NCAIR focuses on creating a thriving ecosystem for Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship (IDE), job creation and national development,” he said.
Garba then assured the management of the Nigerian Army College of Environmental Science and Technology of his office’s unflinching support towards the realisation of the mutual collaboration that will bring about a suitable environment for discovery and harnessing the abundant creative ideas of Nigeria’s teeming youth through the promotion of innovative technologies.
Earlier, the Rector of the College, Brigadier General Yahaya H Abdulhamid, said the idea to partner with the NITDA was borne out of the serious impact the agency had been making in areas of emerging technologies.
