Nigeria’s fight against insurgency is entering a phase where firepower alone may no longer be enough.
The country’s ability to win on the battlefield could increasingly depend on how soldiers can communicate securely, share intelligence quickly and keep their networks alive when terrestrial infrastructure fails.
That is putting satellite communications, artificial intelligence and resilient networks at the centre of Nigeria’s security challenge.
Jane Egerton-Idehen, managing director of NIGCOMSAT, in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay, said satellite technology has long supported Nigeria’s military operations, particularly in areas where conventional telecommunications infrastructure is unavailable.
The next challenge, however, is to build a communications system that can survive attacks, work across difficult terrain and automatically move between different technologies when one network fails.
“Technology itself doesn’t solve the problem. It is the tool that you use to gather intelligence, to take actions in real time based on the data used,” Egerton-Idehen said.
Her comments point to a broader weakness in Nigeria’s counterinsurgency campaign, in that, having military hardware is only one part of the equation. The advantage comes when intelligence gathered from different sources reaches commanders quickly enough to support decisions and when troops remain connected while operating in remote areas.
The communications battlefield
Nigeria’s insurgency has exposed the limits of terrestrial communications infrastructure in parts of the country. Military operations can take place in forests, deserts, mountains, waterways and other locations where mobile networks and fibre infrastructure are either weak or unavailable.
This is where satellite becomes strategically important.
NIGCOMSAT provides communications support to the Army, Navy and Air Force, including ground, maritime and aviation operations.
Satellite connectivity allows military traffic to be carried beyond the reach of conventional networks. A soldier, aircraft or naval platform operating far from a mobile base station can still communicate if the appropriate satellite equipment and coverage are available.
For the military, that is more than a connectivity issue, as it is a command-and-control issue.
If troops cannot reliably communicate with commanders, intelligence cannot be transmitted quickly, orders can be delayed and battlefield decisions can be made with incomplete information.
Dave Davis, senior technical director, Global Government at iDirect, told BusinessDay that communications resilience is central to modern warfare.
“Resilience is not a case of stopping from being attacked because you will be attacked. It is more about how quickly you can bounce back from being attacked,” Davis said.
That distinction is important for Nigeria. The objective is no longer simply to prevent a network from being disrupted. It is to ensure that when a network is disrupted, another communication path is immediately available.
Read also: Targeted attacks on security personnel signal a dangerous evolution in Nigeria’s insurgency
Nigeria needs a ‘system of systems’
NIGCOMSAT is moving towards what Egerton-Idehen described as a multi-orbit strategy, combining geostationary satellite capacity with low-Earth orbit technology.
The logic is straightforward: no single communications technology can reliably cover every battlefield condition.
Fibre can provide high-capacity connectivity but is fixed and vulnerable to physical disruption. Mobile networks offer broad consumer coverage but may not reach remote military operating areas. Satellites can cover difficult terrain but require appropriate terminals and supporting infrastructure.
The answer, according to Egerton-Idehen, is to connect these systems rather than choose one over another.
Davis described this as a “system of systems”, where different communications technologies provide layers of protection.
For the military, that could mean switching between terrestrial networks, satellites and other communication links depending on what is available at a particular moment.
This is where artificial intelligence could become increasingly important.
iDirect is working toward automated network management that can determine which communication path should be used as conditions change. Davis described the approach as “auto-PACE”, automatic switching between primary, alternate, contingency and emergency communications.
In a high-pressure battlefield environment, the value is not only technical. It reduces the cognitive burden on soldiers and commanders.
A battlefield commander should be focused on intelligence and decisions, not on figuring out which communication system is working.
The intelligence gap
Nigeria’s insurgency problem is often framed around weapons, troop numbers and military platforms. But the technology challenge is also about how quickly information moves from the field to the person making the decision.
Drones, satellites, sensors, mobile devices and other systems can generate intelligence. But intelligence has little operational value if it cannot be transmitted securely and quickly to the right people.
That makes communications infrastructure part of the intelligence chain.
Egerton-Idehen said technology must be viewed as part of a wider system involving intelligence gathering, inter-agency coordination and real-time decision-making.
“There will be no perfect systems. That is why resilience matters,” she said.
A military network designed around a single technology creates a single point of failure. A network with multiple technologies, frequencies and satellite orbits can continue operating even when one layer is disrupted.
For Nigeria, that could be critical in areas where insurgents and bandits operate across large territories and difficult terrain.
Cyberattacks are becoming another battlefield
The physical battlefield is not the only threat. As military operations become more dependent on connected systems, the communications infrastructure itself becomes a target.
NIGCOMSAT says it is adopting security measures including zero-trust architecture, identity management, authentication, password protection, software and firmware updates, disaster recovery and business continuity.
The objective is to ensure that an attacker who penetrates one part of the system cannot automatically compromise the entire network.
This is increasingly important because the satellite infrastructure supporting military communications can itself become a strategic target.
Davis said iDirect is also looking at post-quantum encryption, anticipating a future in which advances in computing could undermine some of today’s encryption technologies.
That illustrates the pace of the security race.
“The threat evolves. The defence must evolve with it,” Dave’s stated.
The 2028 deadline
The urgency is also being driven by the age of Nigeria’s existing satellite infrastructure.
NIGCOMSAT-1R is due to reach the end of its operational life in 2028.The agency plans to replace it with two new assets.
A new geostationary broadband satellite is planned for 2028, while a dual-band satellite is expected in 2029, with the latter intended to serve defence and military users. NIGCOMSAT also plans a software-defined satellite as part of the next generation of its infrastructure.
That transition gives Nigeria an opportunity to redesign its military communications architecture rather than simply replace an ageing satellite with another one.
The strategic shift is from a satellite to a network. From a single asset to multiple orbits and from static communications to systems capable of automatically choosing the most resilient path.
The rural connectivity test
The same infrastructure is also being tested outside the battlefield.
NIGCOMSAT’s 774 Local Government Connectivity Project aims to provide broadband connectivity to local government secretariats across Nigeria.
So far, 45 locations across eight states have been completed. The second phase is expected to cover the remaining 28 states. The pilot has exposed some of the practical difficulties of connecting Nigeria’s most remote communities.
Egerton-Idehen said teams had to use canoes to transport equipment to some locations, while power shortages created another problem: even after connectivity infrastructure was installed, unreliable electricity could prevent equipment from remaining operational.
Those challenges mirror the military problem. Nigeria’s hardest-to-reach locations are also some of the places where communications are most strategically valuable.
The next generation of military communications
NIGCOMSAT’s planned transition to multiple satellites also comes as the global satellite industry moves closer to direct-to-device connectivity.
Unlike traditional satellite broadband, direct-to-device technology allows compatible phones and other devices to connect directly to satellites without a conventional satellite modem.
NIGCOMSAT is exploring partnerships in the area. The potential military and commercial applications are significant.
Power companies could connect remote infrastructure. Farms could connect Internet-of-Things devices. Mobile operators could extend coverage into areas where building terrestrial infrastructure is uneconomic.
For the military, the technology could eventually provide another layer of communication in areas where conventional networks are absent.
But the larger lesson is that Nigeria does not need to choose between fibre, mobile networks and satellites. It needs all of them to work together.
The real technology gap
Nigeria’s biggest technology gap in the insurgency war may therefore not be the absence of satellites, drones or advanced equipment. It is the ability to connect these technologies into a resilient system that can turn information into action.
A satellite can provide coverage. A sensor can collect intelligence. AI can process information. A military radio can carry an order.
But if those systems do not communicate with one another, the technology advantage is lost.
Davis said effective intelligence shared quickly can give a military force a decisive advantage.
That puts communications at the heart of command and control.
For Nigeria, the next stage of the insurgency fight may therefore require a shift in thinking: from acquiring individual military technologies to building an integrated communications and intelligence architecture that remains operational when parts of it are attacked or fail.
The country’s military does not necessarily need a perfect system. It needs a system that can keep working when the battlefield becomes imperfect. And as insurgents increasingly adapt to the technology used against them, Nigeria’s advantage will depend on how quickly its own systems can evolve.
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