The major tracking device by the Nigeria Police Force has remained inactive for the past 12 months now, making it difficult for police detectives to track thieves, fraudsters and kidnappers, LEADERSHIP findings have revealed.
The device, which was reportedly deactivated since January 2021 was still not functional as of early February 2022, after more than one year, with police officers lamenting their inability to track criminals.
However, the Force spokesman, CP Frank Mba, said the device was back on and working.
A police source wondered why, in a country where theft and kidnapping is rife, the entire police force is operating just one tracking device for all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which is even inactive.
Police investigators who spoke with LEADERSHIP on the condition of anonymity said the tracking of phones had become a challenge when carrying out their duties as the device has been inactive for long.
The sources also said outsourcing to individual contractors has become the case now and this implies that the victims of any attack will have to pay the contractors before having their phones and other gadgets tracked. They said certain persons close to the system are capitalising on the situation to make money for themselves.
LEADERSHIP’s investigations also showed that the average amount paid for tracking is N25,000.
Also, some police sources said that in certain cases that were of national interest, the police had to rely on the office of the national security adviser to track bandits.
One of the officers explained that the equipment was handed over to the police by the Nigerian government a few years ago during the tenure of inspector-general of police (IGP) Solomon Arase and was installed by a Nigerian company.
“The equipment was given to us by President Muhammadu Buhari. The thing has not been working because those who are supposed to ensure that it runs well have not played their part. They claim that they are being owed money for subscription,” he said.
He further said the police had not paid the fees for the subscription since 2015 and the police has had to rely on the Department of State Services (DSS), too, to track suspects and victims.
“From what I gathered, subscription fees are meant to be paid yearly but you won’t believe that the police have not paid since 2015. Initially, the company gave us a grace period but they have now cut off the police completely. We now rely solely on DSS and NSA office. It’s a terrible situation and it has worsened the insecurity in the country. The Police Trust Fund promised to help but we have not seen any action yet,” the source said.
But another police source said the platform was undergoing a system upgrade which would soon be completed.
He said: “You know, this thing is technology; just like computers, we do upgrades from time to time. A lot of people on the field don’t even understand how it works. It is undergoing an upgrade because you have new features coming in from time to time. There are new technologies that you have to update to enhance their capacity.
“We have some new equipment which we need to adjust so they can link together. Some are still working. It is not as if all components are shut. That is what is happening.”
