The Nigerian Government has revealed plans to transform police stations across the country into digital connectivity hubs under Project BRIDGE, an initiative aimed at leveraging connectivity to modernise policing in Nigeria.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani made the disclosure on Tuesday, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the ministry and the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.
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The initiative will pave the way for police stations to serve as points of presence on the Project BRIDGE network across the country, Mr Tijani said.
Project BRIDGE is out to achieve nationwide connectivity by extending Nigeria’s national fibre backbone from about 30,000 kilometres to approximately 120,000 kilometres, connecting all the 774 Local Government Areas.
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It also seeks to serve schools, health facilities, agro-industrial zones, rural communities and commercial hubs by providing high-speed broadband and establishing cross-border links with neighbouring countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Mr Tijani said the initiative would improve service delivery and accelerate the digital transformation of the Nigeria Police Force.
“Building on the recently signed memorandum of understanding with the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, we met with inspector general of Police, Olatunji Disu, and Mohammed Sheidu, executive secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, yesterday to explore opportunities for police stations to serve as Points of Presence on the Project BRIDGE network across the country, as well as ways to leverage connectivity as a tool for modernising operations, improving service delivery, and accelerating the digital transformation of the Nigeria Police Force,” Mr Tijani said.
He added that the engagement with the Nigerian Police also featured a live demonstration of an AI-powered, voice-enabled local language statement capture and case management solution developed by Awarri.
According to him, the platform is designed to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and speed of investigative processes by enabling law enforcement bodies to capture statements and manage cases in local languages using AI technology.
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“I am encouraged that deployment will commence in Abuja and Lagos in the coming weeks before scaling more broadly across the country,” Mr Tijani said.
“As we continue to build the digital infrastructure that powers Nigeria’s future, it is equally important that our public institutions are equipped to adopt and harness these technologies to deliver better outcomes for citizens,” Mr Tijani said.
He encouraged public institutions in Nigeria to adopt emerging digital technologies and infrastructure to improve service delivery and deliver better outcomes for citizens.
