How bandits use special technology to evade tracking, by digital economy minister

Minister of communications, innovation and digital economy,Bosun Tijani, has said bandits make use of “a special kind of technology” to make calls and evade surveillance.

Speaking 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 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.

“Because if our towers are not working, our satellites will work,” he said

.He 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.