Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has explained why security agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to track bandits and other criminal groups across the country.
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.
He said criminal groups use advanced techniques to route calls across multiple telecom towers, allowing them to communicate undetected in regions with weak network coverage.
“They weren’t using the normal towers; they bounced calls off multiple towers, which is why they favour areas that are largely unconnected,” he said.
When asked about reports that unregistered or fraudulently registered SIM cards are still in use despite the Bank Verification Number and the National Identification Number–Subscriber Identity Module linkage policies, Tijani said the issue is technically complex, and the reports are not fully verified.
“Whether it’s fact or not, I do not know where you’re getting that from, and I do not know who has evidence that there are people with unregistered SIMs,” he added.
The minister stated that the federal government is investing in telecom towers in underserved regions, upgrading the country’s communication satellites to improve coverage, and expanding fiber-optic networks to strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure.
“If our towers are not working, our satellites will work. Nigeria is the only country in West Africa with communication satellites, and we are bringing new satellites to upgrade their capabilities,” Tijani said.
He added that these initiatives aim to ensure better connectivity for Nigerians while closing loopholes that criminals exploit, thereby enhancing national security.
The minister’s comments come amid rising concerns over insecurity in several parts of the North, where banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism have escalated in recent years.
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