Satellite images from the Nigeria SatX and Sat 2 cannot trace the 273 girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Borno State, the Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agencies (NASRDA) Professor Seidu Mohammed has said. Mohammed explained that while many Nigerians were expecting the satellite to do wonders to trace the girls, the country’s satellites only possessed 2.5 meters resolution, not sufficient to do such tracking.
He said even countries with advanced satellites that have three meters resolutions find it difficult to trace terrorists, but only help in providing useful information on the possible locations of the hidden terrorists.
According to Mohammed, Nigeria Sat X and Sat 2 are working perfectly but what they have are 2.5 meter resolutions, meaning that they don’t have the capacity to trace individuals movement but only give maps of some locations at some particular times.
“People thought satellites are video cameras. They are not. Satellite moves from one location to another and some times before they come back to a particular spot it takes up to four days.
“An earth observation satellite is not a video machine that can capture people anywhere therefore cannot track a migrant militants who are moving every 15 minutes or so.”
“That is why America with hundreds of active satellite can’t be able to track Taliban and other militants but that is not to say it has no relevant, it has in updating maps to know how many routes are available for terrorist to escape.”
He said the agency is working with relevant authorities in giving useful information available in the efforts to rescue the abducted schools girls.
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