TOCA: How a Tantita is redefining surveillance for government security
Orisemeke Benjamin
In an era where security threats are increasingly sophisticated, Nigerian firm Tantita Security Services Nig. Limited is deploying home-grown technology to give governments real-time eyes over land and sea. At the heart of its capability is TOCA, the Tantita Operations Command and Control Application, a proprietary surveillance platform built in-house and tailored for state actors.
“Now, what we have here is an application called TOCA. TOCA means Tantita Operations Command and Control Application. Why is it named TOCA and Tantita is because we developed this application ourselves. You can’t buy this application anywhere else,” says Executive Director Operations and Technical at Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Capt Warredi Enisuoh.
A system built for governments, not individuals
TOCA is not an off-the-shelf product. It is designed specifically for national and sub-national governments, with login portals configured for states and ministries rather than private clients. “Our mindset and development capacity are geared towards governments,” Enisuoh explains, noting that the firm’s services are limited by the decisions and mandates of contracting states.
The platform can host satellite imagery in real time and post-event, and retain up to two years of activity across a country’s territory or waters. “If ships entered and left your waters, in two years, we will be able to play back what has happened,” he says. Beyond imagery, TOCA can ingest radio frequency signals, enabling detection of activities ranging from motorcycle ignition in remote bush to phone and radio transmissions.
Mapping pipelines, platforms and dark ships
During a demonstration, Enisuoh walks through a satellite-mapped view of ocean pipelines and oil infrastructure. “Those blue ones are pipes. Those square ones are oil platforms,” he says, pointing to layers on the screen. The system flags vessels that switch off their Automatic Identification System (AIS), a common tactic used to evade detection during illicit bunkering or smuggling.
“Even when our drones are flying, we see what the drone sees. It can be videoed here; you can see this is a satellite pass,” he adds, showing how satellite overpasses and ship tracks are fused into a single operational picture. Numbers assigned to vessels reflect confidence levels in the signal; lowering the threshold increases detections, even capturing small wooden boats and, at extreme sensitivity, wave patterns.
Body cams, geo-reference and staff safety
Tantita also integrates body-worn cameras into TOCA, allowing command centres to see exactly what field operatives see in real time. “We can put in body cams… What he sees in real time is what we can also see in real time,” Enisuoh says, demonstrating a live feed from a staff member inside a building.
Each camera feed is geo-referenced, so the location of every operative is visible on the map. “Anywhere our staff are carrying out surveillance… we will be able to co-locate or geo-reference that particular staff. So, in case that staff is in trouble, we can respond. We can go save that staff or call somebody,” he explains. Clicking on an icon pulls up the operator’s video, trajectory and movement history. “That staff cannot trick me. Oh, I am here. But whereas, no, I know. We don’t preach ten commandments to our staff. We only use systems to put them in line,” he says with a smile.
Partnership with state security agencies
Despite its reach, Tantita stresses it is a surveillance partner, not a replacement for state security forces. “We are only a surveillance firm. We have to partner with state actors like the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Army and others to be able to do that particular job,” Enisuoh says. The company covers only the sections it is contracted to monitor, though it can provide backup support if other agencies request it.
When asked why oil theft persists despite such technology, he notes the limits of mandate: “We only look after the lines. We only look after the section we are contracted to look after; we don’t know what other instructions the Navy or any other company may have gotten.”
Rising competition and the need to evolve
The biggest challenge, Enisuoh says, is not technical but market-driven: a surge of new entrants. “Every day you have somebody who wants to get rich by dying trying,” he says, acknowledging that competition has forced Tantita to continually upgrade its capabilities. “That has also helped us to up our game.”
He credits federal government support for enabling the firm to invest heavily in talent and R&D. “This is not cheap… It comes with contracting very knowledgeable people… Fortunately, there’s a company who feels… with this guy’s knowledge, we’ll even find him a wife so he will not go. So, I stayed,” he jokes, underscoring the high cost of retaining top expertise.
Future outlook: Crime evolves, so must surveillance
Looking ahead, Enisuoh expects a shift in criminal tactics as technology closes old loopholes. “Once they can’t outsmart the system anymore… they are going to give up. But when they give up, the question is, where do they go? Crime doesn’t just disappear. It evolutes,” he says. Tantita’s strategy is to anticipate these shifts and reposition accordingly.
The firm spent last year in research, development and quality assurance before launching its marketing push this year. Already, countries like Equatorial Guinea have expressed interest. “We keep building,” Enisuoh says, as Tantita takes its campaign to more government offices to showcase what Nigerian ingenuity can deliver for national security.
