Effective Application of Remote Sensing and GIS: Indispensable Tools for Military Intervention on Insecurity in Nigeria

Though Nigerian police are mandated for internal insecurity matters; where police are overwhelmed, Nigerian military force are called upon for intervention. The Nigerian military force are consistently playing an active role on security matters which at time claim lives of troops and officers. This paper thus examines the pattern of military operation on counter terrorism in Nigeria with the specific objective of determining how application of remote sensing and GIS can improve their intervention to combat terrorist activities within Nigeria space. All the thirty-states and FCT in Nigeria were purposely selected for the study. Military intervention data between 2001 and 2020 acquired on ACLED portals were used. Nearest Neighbourhood Analysis on ArcGIS 10.8 Environment was used. The results reveal the clustered pattern of military intervention at Z-value of −88.93 with observed mean distance of 1995 m of intervention. Without a modern technology, there is a limit to areas military eye could cover. Despite the 3387 reported military interventions, its effectiveness is not well-manifested due to lack of proper remote monitoring of insurgents, bandits etc. who, at time, lay ambush and attacked military unaware. This study concludes that effective and successful military operation on insurgents requires application of modern sophisticated technology (Remote sensing and GIS) aside military hardware and personnel. This study thus recommends the integration geospatial technology as necessary tools in modern military operation against rising insecurity in Nigeria.