Foreign Internet Services Complicating Tracking Of Bandits — Tinubu’s Aide

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said that criminals’ use of foreign internet services makes it difficult for Nigerian security agencies to track their locations and ovements.

Bwala made this known in an interview with Nigeria Info FM, which was shared on the station’s Instagram page on Friday.

According to him, while local digital platforms can be monitored and traced by authorities, criminals who use services outside Nigeria’s jurisdiction were much harder to track.

He said, “There is a regulatory body in Nigeria that has the database of Nigerians and their phone numbers. There is also a body that deals with internet service provision, where if you are using an internet service covered within the sphere of Nigeria, they can trace through the IP address.”

“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. These terrorists most of the time are using cellular services from neighbouring countries and not from Nigeria, so it becomes tricky,” he added.

His comments underscored the increasing technological complexities confronting security agencies in their fight against banditry and terrorism nationwide.

In recent months, the country has witnessed a sharp rise in insecurity, with incidents of kidnapping, terrorist attacks, and armed banditry affecting several communities, particularly in the North-West and North-East regions. Several villages have been attacked and schoolchildren abducted, fueling fear, displacement, and disruption to local economic activities.

Suspected terrorists and bandits have reportedly taken to platforms such as TikTok to post videos showing their hostages, weapons, bundles of cash and supposed hideouts.

These posts are often meant to flaunt their “successes,” and intimidate communities.