Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has offered a clear explanation as to why Nigerian security forces face significant difficulty in using technology to track down bandits and terrorists.
Speaking in an interview with Nigeria Info FM, Bwala highlighted that the criminals’ reliance on foreign internet services and external cellular networks creates major obstacles to surveillance and tracing.
Bwala explained that domestic security agencies possess the necessary tools and databases to trace individuals utilizing Nigerian networks.
This includes regulatory bodies holding the database of Nigerian phone numbers and institutions capable of tracing users via an IP address when they use internet services covered within the country’s jurisdiction.
However, he pointed out that these capabilities are rendered useless when the criminals operate outside the national regulatory sphere. He provided an analogy involving a high-profile, extraterritorial communication system: “If you are using Starlink, we cannot trace it because Starlink is not registered in Nigeria; it is in space. That is the problem they have in Ukraine and Russia.”
This comparison underscores the difficulty of monitoring communication that does not flow through national infrastructure.
READ ALSO: I Don’t Need Validation from Political Opportunists, Atiku Slams Bwala
The presidential aide further stated that the bandits and terrorists often rely on telecommunication services from neighbouring countries, which complicates the tracing efforts:
“These terrorists most of the time are using cellular services from neighbouring countries and not from Nigeria, so it becomes tricky.”
This reliance on cross-border cellular services shields their communications from Nigerian interception and tracking tools, exposing the current technological limitations in fighting transnational crime.
Bwala’s comments highlight a critical aspect of the escalating security challenge in Nigeria, where mass kidnappings, including the recent abductions of schoolgirls in Kebbi state and over 200 schoolchildren in Niger state, have become distressingly common.
The ability of these criminal groups to evade domestic security technology poses a serious threat to national stability.