Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, says bandits and other criminal networks are now deploying sophisticated communication technologies that make it difficult for security agencies to track their activities, including ransom calls.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Tijani said the criminal operations within the telecom space are “far more technical” than many Nigerians realise, despite the federal government’s efforts to tighten identification and monitoring systems.
Tijani addressed concerns that kidnappers still negotiate ransoms using unregistered lines, years after the government introduced the mandatory National Identification Number–SIM linkage aimed at curbing anonymous communication and criminal activities.
“There was an exercise that was conducted by the telcos to clean out all SIMs,” he said, noting that the President’s directive to expand telecom infrastructure was influenced by emerging threats.
“The reason the President pushed us to invest in towers in those areas was the fact that we realised there was a special type of technology they [criminals] were using to call.”
The minister said criminal gangs have since evolved, embracing communication tools that allow them to mask their locations by bouncing calls across several telecom towers.
“They were not using the normal towers; they bounce calls off multiple towers. That’s why they enjoy living in areas that are unconnected,” he added, explaining that the tactic becomes more effective in remote locations with poor coverage.
He noted that Nigeria remains the only West African nation currently operating its own communications satellites, a capability the government is strengthening to close security gaps.
“This is why we are upgrading our two satellites, so that if our towers are not working, our satellites will work,” he said.
Tijani also confirmed plans to deploy 4,000 new telecom towers across underserved rural communities to reduce network blind spots exploited by kidnappers and illegal operators.
The project, approved by the Federal Executive Council last Wednesday, will be executed in collaboration with Huawei.
“It is why we are investing in fibre; it is why next year this project will start. We are doing it with Huawei — 4,000 towers in rural areas,” he said, adding that improved connectivity would “significantly enhance security surveillance” and stimulate economic activity.
Asked when Nigerians should expect the upgraded satellites to become operational, Tijani said satellite deployment remains “the third leg” of the broader connectivity plan and would take longer than the ongoing tower and fibre projects.
The minister’s comments come against the background of previous state-level telecom shutdowns, such as Zamfara’s 2021 blackout, which authorities said helped security forces weaken bandit networks operating in the forests.
The post Bandits use technology that bounces calls across multiple towers - Bosun Tijani appeared first on Vanguard News.
