Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has revealed that bandits employ a “special kind of technology” to make calls while evading surveillance and tracking by security agencies.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today with Seun Okinbaloye on Friday night, Tijani explained that monitoring bandits’ communications for intelligence is far more technically complex than commonly assumed.
He stated that the criminals “bounce calls off multiple towers” to confuse tracking efforts, deliberately operating in unconnected areas to exploit network gaps.
“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.
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital
To counter this, the minister disclosed that the federal government is upgrading Nigeria’s communication satellites as a backup monitoring system. “Because if our towers are not working, our satellites will work,” he noted, adding that Nigeria is the only West African country with its own communication satellites, with upgrades underway.
Tijani emphasised the need for massive investment in telecom infrastructure, contrasting Nigeria’s approximately 40,000 towers with China’s over four million 5G towers.
The minister’s comments come amid a recent surge in insecurity, particularly in northern Nigeria, including mass school abductions in Niger and Kebbi states and attacks on churches in Kogi and Kwara.
The escalating violence has prompted the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to schedule a nationwide protest on December 17, 2025, demanding urgent government action.
Tijani’s explanation of “call bouncing” has sparked debate, with some tech experts arguing that routing calls through multiple towers is a standard network function and could potentially aid rather than hinder tracking.
