Kano State Government1 has imposes adoption of vehicle technology to control detective measure against emerging security threat in the city.

Worried by the increasing population and massive vehicular inflow into the commercial nerve centre in Northern Nigeria, the state government disclosed the deployment of trackers on commercial vehicles and tricycles to tighten security.

Addressing stakeholders in the transport sector on Saturday, Commissioner for Transportation, Kano, Barr. Haruna Isa Dederi, explained that the introduction of the technology was imperative to protect lives and property in the state.

Barr. Dederi revealed that despite the relative peace enjoyed in the state, the rate of car theft and the use of tricycles, popularly known as (Adadata), to dispose of valuables from innocent residents is not only alarming but also demands urgent attention.

The commissioner also regretted the infiltration of bandits and other criminal elements into Kano; however, he declared the government’s readiness to deploy the necessary technology to control crime.

Although Dederi hinted that the government has mounted technological surveillance at major points of entry and exit, as well as on strategic roads, junctions and quarters of the state, he said the hardware device will serve as a tracker that detects the footprint of the vehicles.

He said the implementation of tracker enforcement will focus on commercial transport, after which enforcement will be extended to private vehicles and tricycles.

He said, “Government has a system where whenever anybody is coming into Kano, from the time he arrives in Kano, definitely he is going to alight at a station. Now, by the time he is alighting, he will be captured. We will see through the cameras. We will see what he is up to.

“When he is going into the town, you know, he is definitely going to use either a tricycle or a taxi or any vehicle conveying his properties to wherever he is going. Now, by the time he is doing that, he will definitely be noticed. And everything concerning him will be transmitted to the appropriate authorities.

“The police have a dashboard. The Ministry of Transportation has a dashboard. The Cabinet Office also has a dashboard. Everybody will be monitoring what is happening. In the whole of northern Nigeria, there is no city that attracts such a large number of people as Kano is attracting now, so we need to check our safety and ensure peace,” Dederi noted.

Reacting, the representative of a private firm handling the deployment of the technology, Dr. Aminu Umar Maigari, explained that vehicle and tricycle owners will pay N28,000 for the hardware and administrative charge before installation.

Maigari disclosed that while the firm would be responsible for the general detection and tracking of the device for vehicle safety, additional dashboards are being distributed to various strategic quarters to carry security details.

Representatives of various security and sister agencies assured their readiness to support the state government in enforcement to keep the state safe.

Stakeholders representing various transport workers in attendance also pledged to promote the initiative, sustain peace and development in Kano.