Abuja (Nigeria) – The Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGOF) is to collaborate with the Defense Space Agency in producing requisite maps, charts and plans that will support the armed forces in fighting insurgency in the country.
The collaboration was sought when the Chief of Defense Space Agency; Tommy Udoh paid a visit to the office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, Ebisintei Awudu, on Thursday in Abuja.
This was contained in a statement issued by the press secretary of OSGOF, Grace Njoku.
Speaking during the meeting, Tommy Udoh stated that the warfare has taken a different form as the terrorists have been pursued by the military out of their camps in the towns and are now taking refuge in the forest.
He added that given the present challenge of insurgency, requisite maps, charts and plans are needed to acquaint the officers with adequate knowledge of the terrain, as this will lead to a quicker elimination of the terrorists.
“The Military would have overtaken the Sambisa forest before now but the intelligence reports gathered and attempts made were frustrated by mines in the area as well as ambushing the military forces because of the peculiar terrain,” he said.
To this end, he sought for provision of maps and aeronautical charts among others to give the armed forces sufficient knowledge of the geo-spatial features within the forest; noting that, it will enable them to set up their operations to match the challenges of the area – training will also be needed from OSGOF in surveying and mapping services for the young military officers.
While responding, the Surveyor general of the federation, Ebisintei Awudu, commended the government for its informed decision in setting up the Defense Space Agency saying that, it would bridge hitherto the existing gap between the military and the Office in the area of surveying, mapping and other related matters.
He assured that the Office which is the national mapping agency of the Federation, holding the nation’s geospatial information, would provide the Defense Space Agency with necessary data and information to meet its needs which is targeted at ensuring adequate security for the nation.
Awudu further explained that the office established about 15 Continuously Operating Reference (COR) stations within the country which will be used to monitor the Nigerian airspace.
