Insecurity: NASENI commences manufacturing of indigenous armoured carriers 

To curb insecurity in Nigeria, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has commenced the manufacturing of locally Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC).

The agency will also be fabricating Mine- Resistant Ambuse Protected Vehicles (MRAP) for the military.

Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive (EVC/CE) NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, said this in Abuja, while receiving delegations of the Nigerian Army’s Chief of Transformation and Innovation, Maj. Gen Charles Ofoche and the University of Abuja, led by its Vice Chancellor, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah.

He said upon completion, the equipment would immediately be deployed to various theatres of operation where military offensive against insurgents is ongoing.

Haruna added that the agency’s engineers would be collaborating with the Nigerian Machine Tools Limited, Osogbo to meet its target.

Responding, Ofoche said the essence of the collaboration is to give protection to the fighting troops.

He added: “My department deals with research and development, which is important to the Nigerian Army, because we can’t just be consumers of products. We can’t keep buying and when the technology goes out of fashion, we dump them and buy new ones.”

On his part, Na’Allah said the university signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NASENI in 2014 for the establishment of a centre for reverse engineering and innovation, but the university did not explore the opportunity.

He said the institution would reintroduce the MoU for the establishment of the centre, which he said would be located within the university, but managed jointly by NASENI and the institution.

Na’Allah said the focus of the centre would be to manufacture furnaces, energy and power equipment, miscellaneous components and manufacturing of devices and systems.