How Kano LG Is Fighting Insecurity Without Military

Amid increasing joblessness, destitution, drug abuse and rising crime among youths in Kano State, Ungogo Local Government Area has found a way to stop criminals from finding abode in its communities.

In 2018, the Kano State Police Command recorded 337 “major crime cases” which included 105 rapes, 168 murders and 34 cases of theft of vehicles, among others.

The crime rate has continued to rise even higher since then with the police command arresting 14 suspected bike thieves, seven suspected tricycle thieves, eight suspected kidnappers, 45 suspected armed robbers, 28 suspected cybercriminals, eight suspected drug pushers and 146 suspected vandals, all within September 2020.

Faced by rising insecurity, Ungogo has developed a software to report movement of criminals or suspicion of crime while also building “smart police stations” with outdoor surveillance cameras that are monitored from inside the stations.

Located to the north of Kano city, the 204 square kilometre area of the council is covered by surveillance cameras mounted at strategic locations to provide a bird’s eye view of the communities.

The cameras are monitored 24/7 from each of the four police divisions in the council so that criminal activities or violence are quickly intercepted or neutralized.

But more importantly is the software the council developed to provide a safe channel for residents to report crime without revealing their identities.

Chairman of the council, Abdullahi Garba Ramat, an electrical engineer, told THE WHISTLER in Kano that the software enables residents to quickly report any suspicious person or attempt to commit crime without making a phone call but simply downloading an App and clicking on it.

He said, “Once you download the App and you log on to it, it will open a camera and ask you to snap what you have seen.

“The next thing it will ask why you are reporting, then the location. If you say your location, the software will automatically generate your location to the dashboard in the chairman’s office.

“The last question it will ask you is if you have any additional information. All these information would be seen on the dashboard only by the chairman.”

If it’s actionable information, the chairman would immediately report to the police or operatives of the Department of State Services to take action.

According to Engr Ramat, the name of the software is LURA and it can be downloaded by residents from their android phones on Playstore.

The chairman also urged the Federal Government to develop similar software or acquire a copyright for LURA to fight banditry and terrorism.

“You see when Boko Haram started in Borno, people knew where the boys were but they couldn’t report because they were afraid Boko Haram could find out who reported them.  So, if you give Nigerians the opportunity to report any wrongdoing with this App, you would receive a lot of information and intelligence,” he said, adding that bandits are also operating freely in North West  because “no one has the courage to report to the police even though they know them.”

He revealed further that the security situation in his council has been put under control with all the measures they have taken.

“Even the mere knowledge that  criminals know they’re being watched  is enough deterrent to the less hardened ones while others know there’s no hiding place for them,” he said.