Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, says bandits use “a special kind of technology” to make calls and evade surveillance.
The minister spoke in a chat with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday night.
Tijani said the monitoring of bandits’ calls for intelligence purposes is “more technical” than Nigerians assume.
The minister said the criminals bounce calls off multiple towers to throw off security agents tracking their communication.
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“The reason why the president actually pushed us to invest in towers in those areas is that we realised that there was a special kind of technology that they [the bandits] were using to call,” Tijani said.
“They were not using the normal towers; they bounce calls off multiple towers. That is why they enjoy living in areas that [are] unconnected.”
Tijani said the federal government is working on upgrading the country’s satellites in space to improve security monitoring.
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“Because if our towers are not working, our satellites will work,” he said.
The minister said the situation emphasised the need for “significant investment” in telecommunication infrastructure.
“If you go to China, they have over four million 5G towers. The total number of towers we have in Nigeria is just about 40,000,” Tijani said.
There has been a surge in insecurity across the country in recent weeks, particularly in the north.
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Schoolchildren have been abducted by bandits in Niger, Kebbi and churches were attacked in Kogi and Kwara states.
The spate of school abductions and killings in communities prompted the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to fix a nationwide protest for December 17.
