The United States has donated counter-nuclear smuggling equipment to Nigeria in order to help prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear materials. The equipment includes radiation detectors and response vehicles. This is part of a broader effort by the United States to work with Nigeria to combat terrorism.
Nigeria and the United States have been strong partners in the fight against terrorism. The United States has provided training and other assistance to help Nigeria improve its counterterrorism capabilities and work together to share information and intelligence to help identify and track terrorist threats.
Development of a national database of radioactive sources.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed concern over the dangers associated with illicit trafficking of nuclear materials and other radioactive sources. This concern is shared by the Nigerian people, who are worried about the potential for these materials to be used for terrorist purposes.
Steps have been taken by the government to address this issue, including the development of a national strategy for the management of radioactive materials. This strategy includes a number of provisions to prevent the trafficking of these materials, including the development of a national database of radioactive sources.
The IAEA has praised the program for its effectiveness.
In the second quarter of 1998, the government gave a directive that Nigeria should be registered as a participating nation in the Illicit Trafficking Database Programme being organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The program was put in place to help protect the territories of participating nations from the dangers of illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials.
This directive was given in response to concerns that Nigeria could be used as a route for trafficking these materials. The IAEA has stated that the program has been successful in helping to prevent such trafficking. The program has been in place for over a decade, and has seen significant success in helping to keep nuclear and other radioactive materials out of the hands of would-be traffickers. The IAEA has praised the program for its effectiveness, and it is hoped that it will continue to play a role in preventing nuclear proliferation.
Systems will help Nigeria detect nuclear and radiological materials.
The Office of Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NSDD) donated multiple new mobile radiation detection systems worth $2 million to Nigeria on March 25th. The new radiation detectors, which are able to quickly and accurately identify nuclear and radiological materials, will help the Nigerian Police Force better protect the country from nuclear and radiological threats. The new systems join the fifteen other radiation detectors already in use by the Nigerian Police Force. These systems will help to improve the Nigerian Police Force’s ability to detect and deter smuggling of nuclear and radiological materials, which could be used to create a nuclear or radiological weapon.
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