Nigeria Plans to Turn Police Stations into Digital Hubs Under Project BRIDGE
By Aboki Forex —
The Federal Government has announced plans to convert police stations across Nigeria into digital connectivity hubs. The move is part of Project BRIDGE, an initiative to modernise policing through better internet access.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani made the disclosure on Tuesday. He spoke after the ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.
Under the plan, police stations will serve as points of presence on the Project BRIDGE network. Tijani said this will help extend Nigeria’s national fibre backbone from about 30,000 kilometres to roughly 120,000 kilometres. The goal is to connect all 774 local government areas.
Project BRIDGE also targets schools, health facilities, agro-industrial zones, rural communities and commercial hubs. It will provide high-speed broadband and establish cross-border links with Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Tijani said the initiative will improve service delivery and speed up the digital transformation of the Nigeria Police Force.
“Building on the recently signed memorandum of understanding with the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, we met with inspector general of Police, Olatunji Disu, and Mohammed Sheidu, executive secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, yesterday to explore opportunities for police stations to serve as Points of Presence on the Project BRIDGE network across the country,” Tijani said.
He added that the meeting included a live demonstration of an AI-powered, voice-enabled local language statement capture and case management solution. The platform was developed by Awarri. It is designed to improve the efficiency, accuracy and speed of investigative processes by allowing law enforcement to capture statements and manage cases in local languages using AI technology.
“I am encouraged that deployment will commence in Abuja and Lagos in the coming weeks before scaling more broadly across the country,” Tijani said.
He urged public institutions to adopt emerging digital technologies and infrastructure to improve service delivery and deliver better outcomes for citizens.
“As we continue to build the digital infrastructure that powers Nigeria’s future, it is equally important that our public institutions are equipped to adopt and harness these technologies to deliver better outcomes for citizens,” Tijani said.