Professional surveyors have offered to deploy advanced mapping technologies, including drones and sensor-based imaging, to help Nigeria’s security forces identify and dismantle bandits’ hideouts, particularly in forested areas across the country.
The Chairman of the Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), Federal Capital Territory chapter, Mr Emmanuel Omuya, made the offer on Saturday while addressing journalists at the association’s fourth-quarter 2025 general assembly in Abuja.
Omuya said resident surveyors possess the technical expertise and equipment required to support intelligence-led military operations, urging the Federal Government to strengthen collaboration with the profession as insecurity continues to spread nationwide.
According to him, modern security architecture in advanced countries relies heavily on geospatial intelligence generated by surveyors to track criminal movements and guide tactical responses.
“In advanced societies, location analysis and mapping are critical to security operations. In the United States, for instance, the military works closely with surveyors and relies on maps, drones and other surveying instruments to track locations and give security direction,” he said.
Omuya explained that surveyors could accurately map forest locations widely believed to harbour bandits, thereby narrowing the search area for security forces and enabling more targeted operations.
“Everybody says the bandits are in the forests. Once we properly map these forests, we can channel our strength to those areas and begin systematic scouting,” he added.
He further disclosed that modern surveying drones can be fitted with specialised sensors capable of detecting high concentrations of carbon dioxide, a by-product of human breathing.
“When these drones are deployed over forests, the images can reveal areas with unusually high carbon dioxide levels. Naturally, forests are not expected to have dense human presence. So where you find such concentrations, it suggests human activity, which could indicate criminal camps,” Omuya explained.
He said once such hotspots are identified, security forces could concentrate surveillance and operations in those locations, making it easier to track and apprehend bandits.
Also speaking at the event, a former chairman of the association, Mr Simepiriye Kalio, called on the Federal Government to deepen its engagement with surveyors, noting that the exclusion of professionals from planning stages had led to the poor execution of many public projects.
Kalio stressed that beyond security, surveyors play a critical role in national development and should be fully integrated into government policies and projects
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