Nigeria’s upcoming NigComSat-2A and 2B satellites are expected to strengthen the country’s security capabilities by supporting surveillance, criminal tracking and secure communications for military personnel operating in remote areas.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, said the satellites would provide additional technical capabilities for defence and security agencies, particularly in locations where conventional communication infrastructure is limited or vulnerable to compromise.
Egerton-Idehen disclosed this during an interview on Sunrise Daily on Monday, where she highlighted satellite surveillance and secure communications as potential applications of the new space assets.
According to her, satellite technology, digital mapping and tracking systems could support security agencies in monitoring and locating criminal activities, particularly in areas where terrestrial infrastructure is difficult to deploy.
“Satellite comes in, and we can track criminals with it. Surveillance is part of the things you can do with satellites,” she said.
She explained that the effectiveness of such capabilities would depend on the satellite technology and supporting equipment available to security agencies.
“If there’s a digital map there, that means if there’s access to technology, of course there are things you can track and survey,” she said.
Egerton-Idehen also identified secure communications as a major potential benefit for Nigeria’s defence sector, particularly for troops deployed to remote and difficult-to-access locations.
She said military personnel operating in areas such as the Sambisa Forest can face difficulties maintaining reliable communication with command and control centres, while existing communication channels may sometimes be vulnerable to interception or compromise.
“We have our armed forces or the people in the defence sector, and sometimes their biggest challenge is communication. You’re going to put them in Sambisa Forest to go and fight there, and there is no way to talk to command and control. That is very difficult,” she said.
She added that even where communication links are available, security vulnerabilities could expose troops and operations to additional risks.
“And sometimes there is a way, but it’s not secure because it gets compromised, and they get compromised. That’s what we’re saying,” she said.
The NIGCOMSAT chief said the planned satellite capacity would help address some of these gaps by providing more reliable and secure communication infrastructure capable of supporting defence and security operations on a wider scale.
