By Udora Orizu
The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence has urged the Department of State Security (DSS) to explore artificial intelligence and other advanced upscale technologies in combating insecurity in the country.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Shaban Sharada (APC-Kano), made the call yesterday in Abuja, during an oversight function visit to evaluate the 2020 budget performance of the DSS.
Sharada said that more than ever before, Nigeria is faced with varieties of security challenges ranging from kidnapping, banditry and separationist agitations and communal clashes.
These security challenges, he said, had continued to negatively affect the wellbeing of the people.
According to him, the situation called for collaboration of all arms of government to confront it.
The lawmaker said: “This committee will continue to support the service in the discharge of their constitutional mandate so that together we shall achieve the needed milestone in providing security and welfare for Nigerians. As part of our determination to provide the necessary instructional framework and provided conducive environment for security agents to efficiently do their job, recently we conducted public hearing on four security bill two days ago.
“The bill for Compulsory Installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Infrastructure into the Security Architecture of Nigeria, when passed into law is expected to further enhance and aid the work of the service. I encourage the DSS to continue to explore the use of artificial intelligence and other advanced upscale technology in intelligence gathering, surveillance, forensic investigations and general security management. I acknowledge the efforts of the DSS in preventing crimes through the utilisation of intelligence gathering; I call on all the security agencies to make maximum use of and intelligence alert at their disposal towards the protection of lives and property.”
In his response, the Director General of DSS, Mr. Yussuf Bichi, appreciated the lawmakers for their continuous support for the service
According to him, the support from the parliament has gone a long way in assisting the service to meet its mandate and the security challenges of the country.
Bichi said that the budgetary allocations approved by the parliament had enabled research, facilitated movement of staff in operation and acquisition of state of the art equipment.
The director general said that the DSS got 100 percent releases of the 2020 budget and that it had so far received 62 per cent of allocations in the 2021 budget.
Adamu also commended development partners for their collaboration with UBEC to ensure a successful exercise.
Also speaking, the UNICEF Country Representative, Peter Hawkins, tasked Nigeria on improving learning outcomes among pupils.
