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 with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels TV‘s Politics Today on Friday night.

Bosun stated that monitoring bandits’ calls for intelligence reasons is “more technical” than Nigerians realise.

According to the minister, thieves bounce calls off various towers to confuse security personnel who are following their communications.

“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,” Bosun 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.”

Bosun 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.

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,” Bosun said.

Here’s a clean rephrasing with a professional news tone:

In recent weeks, insecurity has escalated nationwide, with the situation particularly dire in the northern states. Bandits have abducted schoolchildren in Niger and Kebbi, while violent attacks on churches were recorded in Kogi and Kwara states.

The wave of abductions and killings has prompted the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to schedule a nationwide protest for December 17.