Nigeria is strengthening its digital infrastructure to tackle the persistent use of mobile networks for kidnapping, fraud, and banditry.
Communications Minister, Dr. ’Bosun Tijani, outlined a comprehensive strategy that moves beyond conventional regulation to directly target the technical loopholes exploited by criminals.
Despite the previous SIM registration drive, which reduced unregistered lines, criminal networks have adapted.
They now use sophisticated technology to bounce calls across multiple towers, masking their location and evading standard surveillance, especially in underserved areas.
To close these gaps, the government is implementing a multi-layered approach, including expanding fibre-optic networks to improve ground-based connectivity and upgrading Nigeria’s communications satellites, leveraging the country’s unique position as the only satellite operator in West Africa to ensure coverage where terrestrial towers fail.
Another measure is enhancing targeted telecoms surveillance to disrupt these complex criminal communications.
This infrastructure-led shift aims to deny criminals the anonymity of weak networks, tying national security directly to digital resilience and seeking to restore public trust in the telecoms system.
Source: Newstide