May 6, 2021

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) on Wednesday said inadequate satellite and other facilities affect monitoring of bandits and other criminal elements operating in the country.

The newly appointed Director-General of the Agency, Halilu Shaba disclosed this to journalists in Abuja after an interactive meeting with staff of the agency in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Shaba said the bandits have become sophisticated in their operations and waves received by the agency from remote areas shows the bandits no longer use Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) phones, but walkie-talkie.

“The Satellite is not static where the insurgency is taking place. That is why one satellite is not adequate. What Nigeria has there are some two satellites doing two different things.

“We have a High-Resolution imaging satellite and Medium Resolution imaging satellite. The activities of the bandits could be when the satellite was away from Nigerian borders, so that is why we are advocating for more satellites for Nigeria,” he said.

Shaba, therefore, called for collaboration between the agency and security agencies in the country in the area of information sharing, especially when planning to launch attacks on the criminal elements.