Nigeria is looking to tackle terrorists from space, with the military this month requesting tens of millions for spy satellites.
Space has always been the purview of the world's wealthiest nations – the US, China, Russia, Japan and Israel have Earth observation satellites for military purposes but other countries' efforts are seen as more aspirational than effective (In April 2020 the US described Iran's spy satellite as “a tumbling webcam".)
But now Nigeria is hoping to get its own eyes in the sky — not an unrealistic prospect, given the country's existing satellite programs, launched with foreign assistance, such as the Russian-assisted NigeriaSat-1, launched in 2003 for monitoring the environment.
While insecurity has become innovative, security also needs to be innovative and so the Nigerian security agencies need to make sure that they are always one step ahead
David Otto,
counterterrorism analyst
Nigeria faces several unique challenges. It is trying to police porous borders and keep tabs on the vicious Boko Haram insurgency, which at one point covered 180,000 square kilometres of rugged jungle – an area about the size of Belgium.
Kabiru Adamu, a security consultant and Managing Director Beacon Consulting Nigeria, said satellites could enable the military to see suspicious movements of terrorists or armed bandits, from one semi-arid community or forest to another.
“With space technology, you can see that movement, zoom in on that movement, confirm who or what is in that movement and then you can deploy assets,” he added.
Even reconnaissance aircraft, both helicopters or autonomous drones, struggled to track militants over such vast areas.
Although the regulations are gradually being relaxed, commercially available satellite data is limited under the US Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992, which places restrictions on the resolution of available imagery and therefore denting their usefulness for the military.
Established in October 2014, Nigeria's Defence Space Administration (DSA) has attempted to develop indigenous space technology for gathering intelligence images to support the Nigerian army's operations.
Rampant insecurity is in part due to Nigeria's porous borders and its proximity to countries that are dealing with militant groups, including Niger, Mali and Cameroon, which are also facing ISIS and Al Qaeda offshoots.
Northern Nigeria is also home to around 75 million of the country's 200 million people, spread out across jungle and rugged, hilly landscape.
Before using satellites, Nigeria procured 16 Chinese-made armed reconnaissance drones — Wing Loong Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) — as well as three fighter jets and six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft from the US, to conduct low altitude surveillance and targeted air strikes.
Both the DSA and Nigerian Air Force trained their personnel in how to handle the UAVs, analyse satellite imagery and map terrain, for the purpose of fighting insecurity.
But this year, President Muhammadu Buhari approved $86.5 million for the space imagery programme, an increase of 54 per cent from the 2020 budget's $59.36m, out of an annual defence budget of around $2 billion.
Corruption fears
But the increased funding doesn’t impress some Nigerians.
Mukhtar Dotun, a data analyst who has works in the development sector, argues that preventing public funds from going missing during the procurement process is one of the biggest problems facing Nigeria.
“Procurement processes with military equipment are always opaque and before the Buhari era, every Nigerian had concerns about a lack of transparency in the military’s procurement of equipment,” he told The National.
“It isn’t a problem that is peculiar to the Buhari-led government, there have been issues with the embezzlement of funds meant for procurement of equipment with past administrations. So, how are we sure that we won’t hear the same stories when this government leaves office?”
David Otto, a counterterrorism and organised crime specialist at the Siso consultancy, said the intensity of cross-border movements and the consistent presence of terrorists across Nigeria would continually place the country at the top of the global terrorism index.
Mr Otto said that given Nigeria’s high population and the number of security challenges it faces, the military’s plan to launch dedicated satellites for fighting insecurity was a step in the right direction.
“One must recognise that Nigeria is the world’s most populous black nation and shouldn’t lag behind in launching dedicated satellite systems to help deal with her lingering insecurity,” he told The National.
“While insecurity has become innovative, security also needs to be innovative and so the Nigerian security agencies need to make sure that they are always one step ahead.”
Mr Adamu agrees. “In the last few years, the military has increased its knowledge and capabilities within geospatial space and any additional capability that it can acquire. We are hoping that it will be useful. Especially in our context where the military is stretched, it is currently involved on several fronts in almost 34 states of the country in the last 15 years and there is no end in sight to those operations,” he told The National.
The military's efforts could also win public support, although it is early days.
Rotimi Akinrogbe, a business consultant based in Lagos, said Nigeria was at war on all fronts, fighting insurgency and other security challenges.
“So, it is only fair to them that they are given the necessary tools they need to combat this menace at every point. It is not enough for us to claim that we are a giant of Africa when we cannot tap into the technological world and try to expand our reach in terms of defence and security,” he said.
Company%20profile
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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MATCH INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
UAE v Oman - abandoned
Oman v Namibia - abandoned
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
