The Federal Authorities has admitted that safety companies face vital technical challenges in monitoring SIM playing cards allegedly utilized by kidnappers and different prison networks, regardless of years of obligatory SIM registration and Nationwide Identification Quantity (NIN) linkage.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Financial system, Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Friday whereas outlining authorities efforts to deal with insecurity by the telecommunications sector.
Talking in an interview, Tijani stated the problem is “much more technical” than many Nigerians realise, explaining that prison {groups} have tailored to current surveillance techniques by adopting subtle communication strategies, significantly in areas with poor community protection.
The telecommunications sector has remained beneath shut scrutiny since 2020, when the Federal Authorities enforced obligatory NIN–SIM linkage to curb fraud, nameless communication and crimes linked to unregistered telephone traces.
Nevertheless, Tijani acknowledged public considerations over persistent circumstances of kidnapping and ransom negotiations reportedly carried out utilizing unregistered or difficult-to-trace SIM playing cards.
He stated telecom operators had beforehand performed an train to get rid of unregistered SIMs, including that the federal government later found criminals had been utilizing specialised expertise to evade detection.
“There was an train performed by the telcos to wash out all SIMs. The rationale the President pushed us to put money into towers in these areas was as a result of we realised there was a particular sort of expertise criminals had been utilizing to make calls,” he stated.
In response to the minister, many prison {groups} not depend on typical telecom towers however as a substitute route calls by a number of towers, a technique that’s more practical in distant, underserved and poorly related areas.
“They weren’t utilizing the conventional towers; they bounce calls off a number of towers. That’s why they take pleasure in dwelling in areas which are unconnected,” Tijani stated.
To deal with what he described as connectivity gaps aiding prison actions, Tijani stated the federal government is implementing a multi-layered method that features satellite tv for pc upgrades, fibre-optic enlargement and the large-scale deployment of telecom infrastructure in rural areas.
He famous that Nigeria is at the moment the one nation in West Africa working its personal communications satellites, a capability the federal government plans to strengthen.
“Because of this we’re upgrading our two satellites, in order that if our towers usually are not working, our satellites will work,” he stated.
The minister additionally confirmed that the Federal Authorities has accredited the deployment of 4,000 new telecom towers throughout underserved rural communities, areas typically exploited by kidnappers and unlawful SIM operators.
He stated the mission, accredited by the Federal Govt Council final Wednesday, will likely be applied in partnership with Chinese language expertise agency Huawei.
“It’s why we’re investing in fibre. It’s why subsequent yr this mission will begin. We’re doing it with Huawei, 4,000 towers in rural areas,” Tijani stated.
In response to him, the initiative will cut back community blind spots, increase rural {economic} exercise and strengthen safety surveillance in areas at the moment missing dependable connectivity.
Whereas fibre enlargement and tower deployment are already in progress, Tijani stated satellite tv for pc upgrades would take longer, describing them because the third part of the federal government’s broader connectivity technique.
“That one will take longer than the opposite two. The opposite two are nicely in progress,” he stated.