The Executive Director of Operations and Technical Services at Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, has disclosed that the company developed an indigenous technology-driven surveillance system to combat crude oil theft after discovering that some foreign countries were unwilling to provide the advanced technology needed to protect Nigeria’s oil assets.
Enisuoh made the disclosure on Tuesday while speaking at the First Daily Sixth Anniversary National Dialogue on Security held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
According to him, the decision to develop a homegrown solution became necessary because relying on foreign technology posed significant security risks, especially given the involvement of foreign interests in crude oil theft.
“In the quest for technology, we discovered that some countries would not sell us what we needed. Quite frankly, many of those benefiting from oil theft are foreigners, so why would they sell us technology to catch their own people?” he said.
He explained that the company’s board approved extensive research that culminated in the development of the Tantita Operations Command and Control Application, an indigenous software designed to process intelligence gathered from multiple sources, including human intelligence, drones and body cameras.
Enisuoh said the platform enabled Tantita to establish two command-and-control centres in Escravos and Warri to analyse intelligence and coordinate surveillance operations.
He revealed that the company had mapped Nigeria’s entire maritime oil infrastructure, including oil wells, offshore platforms and underwater crude oil and gas pipelines, allowing operators to monitor vessel movements and identify suspicious activities in real time.
According to him, the technology also integrates satellite imagery capable of monitoring any location in Nigeria and beyond, while advanced radio-frequency detection systems can identify signals generated by engines, communication devices and other electronic equipment.
“If you start a motorcycle, we can detect it because the engine emits radio frequency. If someone switches on a phone deep inside a forest, there is the capacity to detect and georeference that signal to its exact location,” he said.
Enisuoh noted that the surveillance system can automatically generate alerts whenever vessels enter designated restricted zones, identify the vessels involved, track their movements and record the duration of their stay.
He said the technology, initially developed to safeguard oil infrastructure, has evolved into a broader national security asset capable of supporting efforts against organised crime and other security threats.
The executive director added that the innovation demonstrates Nigeria’s capacity to develop indigenous technological solutions to address complex security challenges while reducing dependence on foreign systems.