Digital Security and Land Protection Method in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines digital security and land protection methods at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria, in response to increasing land encroachment, urban expansion pressures, and institutional cybersecurity vulnerabilities. As a federally owned university with vast land holdings, OAU faces persistent challenges including unauthorized occupation, illegal land use, weak digital documentation, and fragmented institutional coordination. While traditional land protection mechanisms are largely reactive and insufficient in addressing technologically sophisticated and spatially dispersed threats. Drawing from Systems theory and socio-technical systems perspectives, it conceptualizes land protection as an interconnected institutional system involving digital infrastructure, governance frameworks, human capacity, and environmental dynamics. A mixed-methods research design was adopted. Data were collected from key stakeholders within the ICT Unit, Physical Planning Unit, Legal Unit, and Security Department using purposive and stratified sampling techniques. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis to ensure triangulation and interpretive depth. Findings reveal that digital security technologies at OAU are underdeveloped, weakly integrated, and not systematically aligned with land governance processes. GIS applications are limited to internal planning rather than proactive land monitoring, surveillance infrastructure is concentrated within core campus areas rather than boundary zones, and digital land records lack specialized cybersecurity protection. Institutional fragmentation and limited technical capacity further undermine effectiveness. The study proposes an integrated digital land management framework and structured interdepartmental coordination. It contributes a context-specific yet replicable model for strengthening institutional land security in Nigerian universities, demonstrating that effective land protection requires not only technological deployment but also systemic alignment between digital tools, governance structures, and human actors.