How Jonathan’s Ambitious $460m Abuja CCTV Project Was Sabotaged

…ZTE: We Completed and Handed Over Project in 2012
…Reps Launch Fresh Probe Into What Went Wrong

By Franklin Adole
The House of Representatives has resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the Federal Government’s $460 million investment in the installation of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in Abuja, following concerns that the multi-million dollar security infrastructure has failed to yield visible results.

The decision followed a motion sponsored by Rep. Amobi Ogah (LP–Abia) during plenary on Wednesday. Moving the motion, Ogah recalled that the CCTV project was conceived to strengthen surveillance and improve public safety in the Federal Capital Territory but has not functioned as intended.

“In spite of this huge investment,” Ogah said, “the impact of the CCTV is not felt in any manner.” He added that Nigeria continues to repay the loan used to finance the project “for a non-functional security system.”

The Abuja CCTV network, known formally as the National Public Security Communications System (NPSCS), was initiated in 2010 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. The project was executed by Chinese telecommunications company, ZTE Corporation, under a financing arrangement with the Export-Import Bank of China (China-Exim).

Then Minister of Finance, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, led the Nigerian delegation to Beijing in 2010 to sign the $460 million contract and associated loan agreement. The soft credit facility, drawn from a $600 million financing portfolio, carried a 10-year grace period and 10-year repayment tenure. Nigeria was expected to contribute 15 percent as counterpart funding.

The system was designed to include about 1,000 cameras installed across strategic areas of Abuja, connected through a fibre-optic backbone to a national command and control centre, with provisions for emergency communication, e-policing, and disaster response.

The project was completed and formally handed over to Nigerian authorities in 2012. ZTE and government officials at the time said the network was fully tested and operational, and was considered one of Africa’s largest integrated security communication systems.

However, subsequent reports and legislative investigations suggested that the system went down within a few years of commissioning. A 2016 House committee report revealed that “only 40 CCTV cameras out of the 1,000 installed in Abuja are currently working,” with most of the others “either vandalised, disconnected, or inactive.”

Despite these findings, both the contractor and some former government officials have maintained that the project was completed in full. ZTE Nigeria’s Managing Director, Mr. Hao Fuqiang, told lawmakers in 2016 that the company “completed and delivered one of the most sophisticated security communication tools for the Nigerian government and Nigerian people.” He said acceptance certificates were issued by the relevant ministries, and that “final tests were completed” before handover.

A former Managing Director of the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat), Engr. Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai, who supervised parts of the implementation, also confirmed that “the project was fully completed by ZTE Nigeria Limited.” He told the House Committee on Communications at the time that “25 engineers went to every location to verify different stages of the project, and milestones were all carefully and professionally observed by the implementation team.”

Ahmed-Rufai explained that while the system was functional at completion, operational funding was never sustained. “The required monthly operational budget was about ₦11 billion, later reviewed to ₦5 billion, but the funding still did not come,” he said. “It is like buying a brand-new car and refusing to fuel it.”

He also clarified that the CCTV cameras represented only a fraction of the entire project. “It is erroneous for anyone to call it a CCTV project because the Video Surveillance System is even less than eight percent of the project. There were five components, and they were all completed,” he told reporters.

At the same hearings, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr. Emeka Eze, told the House that the $470 million contract “did not follow due process” because it lacked a Certificate of No Objection from the BPP before award. He, however, conceded that if the project was classified as a national security undertaking, it could have been exempted from that requirement.

In response, Ahmed-Rufai said the project indeed received “presidential approval” as a national security project, which permitted it to proceed under special procurement conditions.

ZTE has consistently welcomed scrutiny, saying it is confident of its compliance with contractual obligations. “We welcome this probe because we are sure we will come out clean,” the company said in a statement at the time. “Acceptance certificates are available for scrutiny.”

Several factors have since been cited for the project’s deterioration, including vandalism, power supply issues, and a lack of maintenance funding. Field visits by journalists have shown that many of the poles, solar panels, and camera housings have been damaged or removed.

Although parts of the communications backbone remain intact, the monitoring systems at the National Command Centre in Abuja are largely inactive. Nonetheless, Nigeria continues to service the Chinese loan associated with the project.

The new House committee is expected to review all project documents, funding records, and maintenance logs to determine the true status of the infrastructure and whether Nigeria derived commensurate value for money. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided over Wednesday’s plenary, directed that the investigation be “comprehensive, transparent, and factual,” with findings to be presented to the House for further legislative action.

The Abuja CCTV project remains one of Nigeria’s most ambitious attempts at deploying technology to support national security. The upcoming investigation is expected to clarify what was delivered, what failed, and what lessons can be drawn for future infrastructure projects financed through external loans.