The Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Lt-General Emmanuel Undiandeye, has affirmed that the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) is deliberately integrating cutting-edge technology with traditional intelligence methods to address Nigeria’s evolving security challenges. Speaking at the 2025 CDI Annual Conference in Abuja, he said the agency is building a “multi-source intelligence” model to better anticipate and neutralize emerging threats.
Undiandeye highlighted that Nigeria’s security landscape has grown increasingly complex, with insurgency, terrorism, banditry, and organised crime now coexisting with cyber-based and information-driven threats. He urged intelligence officers to not rely solely on human sources, but also exploit signal, imagery, and open-source intelligence.
As part of its modernization push, the DIA has begun digitising its intelligence processes, strengthening both cyber and special-intelligence capabilities. The agency has also set up specialised task forces to collaborate with other security and law-enforcement bodies.
A central feature of the reform is the Defence Intelligence Agency Technology Centre (DIATC), launched last year. The centre will focus on five key domains: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, and data analytics.
General Undiandeye noted that these technologies will help DIA generate “actionable intelligence” more quickly, turning raw data into strategic insights that can guide both operational and leadership-level decisions.
In addition to technological investments, the CDI is placing a strong emphasis on human capacity training analysts and field operatives to interpret and act on intelligence ethically, swiftly, and effectively.
