Ekiti to launch anti-crime drones
By Kunle Olubodun
The Ekiti State Government is set to procure drones to fight criminals in the state.
While presenting the 2021 budget, the government said Ekiti will procure the drones within the shortest time possible.The Government said the drones will boost surveillance, expose criminal hideouts and combat insecurity. Irohinoodua learnt that states like Niger are also making preparations to procure drones.
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning Mr. Femi Ajayi also spoke during the breakdown of the 2021 Appropriation Law. The Ekiti State budget for 2021 is N109.666 billion.
Out of this amount, some 550 million has been set aside for sophisticated drones. The Commander of the Ekiti State Security Network, (ESN) , Brigadier Joe Akomolafe said the drones will restrict the activities of criminal elements in a state hunted by cultism, bank robbery and kidnapping.
While inaugurating Amotekun in Ekiti, the State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi had said that ‘the precarious security situation we are contending with nationwide has created palpable fear in the minds of our people. The current challenges of proliferation of small arms and light weapons, kidnapping, assassination, cattle rustling, ritual killing, armed robbery, cultism and youth restiveness are daunting but surmountable.”
A source in the State Ministry of Agriculture told Irohinoodua that the drones will also be useful for all farming activities in the state including animal husbandry and that it will also be used to checkmate rustling of economic trees and animals.
“The drone will serve many purposes. It will help farmers. It will help the transport system within Ekiti corridor. It will also help to check the activities of cultists and other forms of crimes like bank robbery, ritual killings and kidnapping”, the source said. He said the operation of the drones will be in collaboration with all relevant Nigerian security services adding that it will improve local and national security architecture.
Some of the best drones are the DJI Mavic Air 2. The best drone for most people, DJI Mavic 2 Pro, DJI Mini 2. The best drone for beginners, now with 4K powers, DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. A lightweight flyer with truly useful optical zoom., DJI Mavic Mini and DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2
Drones are used in situations where manned flight is considered too risky or difficult. They provide troops with a 24-hour “eye in the sky”, seven days a week. Each aircraft can stay aloft for up to 17 hours at a time, loitering over an area and sending back real-time imagery of activities on the ground.
