Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala has explained why Nigerian security agencies face difficulties tracking armed bandits who openly display ransom money on social media platforms such as TikTok.
Speaking during a recent radio interview, Bwala noted that while ordinary Nigerians who express anger or frustration online can be easily traced because they rely on local internet service providers, while bandits often use foreign-based internet connections that fall outside Nigeria’s monitoring capacity.
“There is a regulatory body in Nigeria that has the database of Nigerians and their phone numbers. There is also a body that monitors internet services. If you are using an internet service covered within Nigeria, they can trace your IP address,” he explained.
“But if you are using Starlink, we cannot trace it because Starlink is not registered in Nigeria—it is in space. That’s the same problem Ukraine and Russia are facing. Many of these terrorists use cellular services from neighbouring countries, not Nigerian networks, and that makes tracking them extremely difficult.”
Bwala said this technological gap remains a major challenge for security agencies trying to clamp down on criminal groups who exploit foreign internet systems to avoid detection.
