Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial intelligence are becoming vital tools for security in developing nations like Nigeria.
GIS is a computer-based tool that stores, organises, analyses, and shows information tied to specific spots on Earth.
Its reported application in the Oriire kidnapping incident in Oyo State provides a practical example of how location intelligence can contribute to security operations.
At a roundtable organised by the Geoinformation Society of Nigeria (GEOSON), Oyo State Chapter, to commemorate the 2026 United Nations World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, experts examined how location intelligence could be deployed not only in rescue operations but also in preventing kidnapping, human trafficking and other crimes.
The forum provided an important question for Nigeria’s security architecture: What if knowing where a threat is likely to occur could help security agencies act before lives are lost?
The answer, according to geospatial professionals, lies partly in turning maps into intelligence.
Beyond the conventional map, GIS is traditionally associated with mapping land, planning cities, managing infrastructure and analysing the environment.
But its security application goes much further.
At the GEOSON roundtable, participants explained that GIS could combine geographical information with data from GPS, remote sensing, drones, spatial analysis and artificial intelligence to identify patterns that may not be immediately visible through conventional intelligence gathering.
Dr Ademola Adeyemi, former Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Lead City University, said geospatial intelligence could identify trafficking hotspots, vulnerable communities, recruitment locations and movement routes.
It could also support border surveillance, rescue operations and rapid emergency response.
In other words, a map can become more than a representation of physical space.
It can become a tool for understanding where crime occurs, how criminals move and where interventions should be concentrated.
The significance of this capability was brought closer to home by the Oriire experience.
According to information shared at the GEOSON forum, the Oyo State Government leveraged GIS spatial technology as part of the intelligence used to locate the place where the abducted pupils and teachers were held captive.
The development illustrates the practical value of geographical intelligence in rescue operations.
In a kidnapping situation, identifying a general area is not enough.
Security personnel need to know the terrain, possible access routes, escape corridors and surrounding settlements.
Accurate spatial information can help narrow the search area, guide deployment and support operational planning.
This is particularly relevant in rural areas where forests, difficult terrain and poorly monitored routes can provide hiding places for criminal groups.
The GEOSON report on trafficking and kidnapping similarly recommended the use of GIS, remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles, GPS, community surveys and spatial analysis to identify hotspots and movement routes.
The Chairman of GEOSON, Mr David Afolayan, believes the greater value of GIS lies in what it can do before an incident occurs.
According to him, if previous kidnapping incidents are mapped, authorities can begin to identify geographical patterns.
“If those incidents are then compared with forests, roads, schools, transport terminals, isolated settlements and security formations, high-risk areas may become easier to identify.
“Such information could help authorities determine where surveillance should be intensified, where security posts may be required and which communities need early-warning mechanisms,” Afolayan said.
Other experts at the forum note that the approach represents a fundamental change.
According to the association, the criminal networks, like legitimate organisations, depend on routes and connections.
The experts note that kidnappers need routes to move victims, just as traffickers have recruitment points, transit corridors and destinations.
They highlight that criminal groups exploit forests, border crossings, mining areas and poorly monitored corridors.
At the GEOSON forum, a surveyor, Mr Rasheed Adesoji, said human trafficking and kidnapping, although legally distinct, frequently overlap through shared routes, actors and vulnerable populations.
He identified porous borders, remote forests, difficult terrain, mining areas and poorly monitored corridors as areas exploited by criminal networks.
Adesoji recommended mapping trafficking origins, destinations, transit corridors and vulnerable settlements.
“This means investigators can study not only individual incidents but the geography of the criminal network.
“If several incidents are connected to a particular road, transport terminal or border corridor, that location becomes significant.
“If victims repeatedly pass through particular communities, those communities may require closer investigation.
“If kidnappers repeatedly exploit particular routes, security agencies can focus surveillance and patrols on those corridors.
“The map begins to tell the story,” Adesoji said.
Mrs Eegunyemi Adepeju, Managing Director, Right Time Surveys and Engineering Ltd, who spoke on socioeconomic vulnerability, identified children, women and girls, migrants, displaced persons, low-wage workers and people with limited education among groups facing heightened risks.
“Mapping these vulnerabilities could allow authorities to identify communities requiring targeted interventions before traffickers exploit them.
“This takes the use of GIS beyond policing. It makes it a tool for social protection and preventive development planning,” Adepeju said.
Mr Victor Eluyera, a Full-Stack Geospatial Engineer with GIS Konsult Ltd., warned that fake job offers and recruitment fraud were increasingly being used as gateways to human trafficking.
He identified upfront payment requests, unverifiable addresses, relocation pressure, unclear job descriptions and unusually attractive offers among warning signs.
“GIS could support address verification, scam-location mapping, geofenced alerts and geotagged reporting.
“This could give citizens and authorities another layer of protection. A suspicious address could be verified. Repeated complaints could be mapped.
“A cluster of fraudulent recruitment reports could alert authorities to a possible organised network,” he said.
However, the experts opine that geospatial technology cannot work in isolation.
The people who live in vulnerable communities remain an important source of intelligence.
GEOSON is advocating for a secure geospatial platform that allows authorised agencies to share appropriate information could help create a common operational picture.
The aim should not be unrestricted access to sensitive information, rather, it should be secure, structured and purposeful intelligence sharing.
The GEOSON roundtable called for systematic mapping of trafficking hotspots, recruitment locations, border routes, transport terminals and vulnerable communities.
It also advocated GIS-based reporting, early-warning and intelligence platforms, alongside greater investment in education, livelihoods, child protection, women’s economic empowerment and survivor support.
These recommendations point towards a broader concept of security.
Security is not only about sending personnel after criminals but it is also about understanding the geography that makes crime possible.
These questions are vital: Where are the vulnerabilities and gaps?
Where are the routes? Where are the criminals likely to move? Where can intervention have the greatest impact?
Analyst says GIS cannot arrest a kidnapper or prosecute a trafficker. It cannot replace human intelligence, professional investigators or trained security personnel.
The Oriire experience and the discussions at the GEOSON roundtable point to a potentially important future for Nigeria’s security architecture.
The country can continue responding to incidents after they occur or it can increasingly invest in systems capable of identifying patterns, mapping vulnerabilities and warning authorities before threats escalate.
The latter requires investment in technology, skilled personnel, data infrastructure, inter-agency cooperation and community participation. It also requires a shift in mindset.
For GEOSON, Nigeria must begin to see geospatial information not merely as something used by surveyors, planners and environmental professionals, but as a strategic security asset.
For the victims of kidnapping and trafficking, location can mean the difference between being lost and being found.
It shifts security agencies from blind searching to intelligence-driven operations, and governments from crisis reaction to proactive prevention.
All in all, experts believe the future of security relies on both possessing data and visually mapping it to extract meaningful insights.
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