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Before Mike (whose name has been changed for anonymity) employed domestic staff in his home, he used to think owning a CCTV was only for big organisations. Now, his home in Ogun State is rigged with smart cameras linked to his mobile phone. “It’s given me less anxiety, especially when artisans are around,” he says.
In a country with a high insecurity rate like Nigeria, home surveillance is not a hard sell. The numbers don’t lie: Between May 2023 and April 2024, over 600,000 deaths were recorded in Nigeria as a result of insecurity according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics. On the Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria had the 7th highest number of fatalities in the world in 2024 due to insecurity.
Security agencies in the country, such as the police force, have not helped in mitigating the situation. In 2023, Nigeria’s police force was ranked as the 4th worst performing in the world.
It is no surprise then that Nigerians are turning to technology to fill the gaps left by poor security systems in the country. According to Statista, 8.8 million Nigerian households are expected to be outfitted with smart security by 2029, reaching a penetration of 17.5% from 15.5% in 2025. This security market includes surveillance products such as security cameras, motion sensors, and programmable and remote control door locks.
CCTVs are becoming the go-to surveillance option for many Nigerians battling the insecurity in the country.
A digital “Third Eye”
Iyanu Adewole, who lives in a duplex in Kwara State, refers to CCTV technology as a “third eye”. “I don’t necessarily feel safe because of it,” she says, “But it helps you see what you normally can’t.” Installed in 2019 after a burglary, her basic camera setup is solar-powered and has helped her solve one theft case. “Someone stole money from my dad’s bag in the living room, so we went to review the [CCTV] footage and discovered who it was,” she says.
In Kwara State specifically, security is threatened by terror groups, bandits, farmer-herder conflicts and violent cult incidents. All these exist despite the state’s leaders’ efforts in trying to control the insecurity situation.
Esther Salami, who lives in Ogun State, says she received her solar-powered CCTV camera as a gift. Though she admits it hasn’t changed how she feels about her safety, she believes it is still a necessity. “It would always be useful in case you need to double-check something,” Salami adds.
Who’s buying?
According to CCTV salesman Adekunle Oluwatosin Fatunde, owner of Ibadan-based Comotech Digital Forensics Company Ltd, demand for CCTV has spiked, the financial costs notwithstanding. “People tend to buy CCTV after an incident,” he says.
While Fatunde says that installation costs typically range from ₦180,000 to ₦300,000 ($112.5-$187.5), Mike says that he spent over ₦2,500,000 ($1,562.5) to install CCTV cameras in his Ogun state duplex.
Nigerians with smaller budgets are not left out. Fatunde says customers who can’t afford a full installation package often scale down on their purchase. This means fewer cameras, no remote viewing, or a “pay small-small” plan. Some Nigerians even opt for solar CCTV systems—comprising a camera, storage card, and customsied solar panel—though these have limitations indoors. “Sometimes, the kind of roofing or design of a building may not allow the panel to adequately receive sunlight,” says Fatunde, impacting the functionality of the installed system.
Still, not every Nigerian who buys a CCTV does so solely to prevent theft. Adewole, who installed a camera to monitor guests in the other unit of her duplex, is a testament to this. The same applies to Tolu (whose name has been changed for privacy), based in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. She says owning a CCTV “has increased my sense of safety in such a way that I can confidently receive guests and also send my [domestic] staff home to run errands for me while I supervise her at the comfort of where I am.”
Little hiccups
Attempting to solve insecurity problems hasn’t come without its challenges for these Nigerians. Tolu and Mike both agree that poor internet connection is one of the biggest problems they face in implementing CCTV supervision in their homes.
There’s also the question of whether to disclose their use of CCTV surveillance to guests or domestic staff.
When asked if she tells her domestic help about the cameras, Tolu says she withholds this information for fear that they might “do something funny to the camera.” The same goes for Salami and Adewole, who say they don’t tell people outrightly, though visitors and domestic staff can see the cameras.
Taking matters into their own hands
Salami believes Nigerians are installing cameras because they don’t fully trust the Nigerian police or security services. Others like Adewole are more diplomatic: “It’s not about trust. It’s self-added protection.”
Fatunde opines that Nigerians are only taking a more proactive approach to their security. Tolu is an example: she does not wait for an incident to happen before monitoring her CCTV feed. “I actively monitor the CCTV feed,” she says.
Both Mike and Oyo-based Tolu—who spends close to ₦50,000 ($31.25) monthly on internet usage for her CCTV, and spent over ₦750,000 ($468.75) on installation—say they believe owning a CCTV at home is a necessity, not a luxury.
In a country where citizens have turned towards private solutions to address systemic deficiencies, if Statista’s projections hold true, by 2029, millions more will join these Nigerians in proactively surveilling their homes especially for an increased sense of security and control over what takes place in their private spaces.
*Exchange rate used is $1 to ₦1,600
