NIGERIANS are faulting Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, for saying that terrrorists are using special technology to bounce off calls.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Dr Tijani spoke on steps taken by the Nigerian government to tackle insecurity through the telecommunications space.
He said, “There was an exercise that was conducted by the telcos to clean out all SIMs. The reason the President pushed us to invest in towers in those areas was the fact that we realised there was a special type of technology they [criminals] were using to call.”
He added, “They were not using the normal towers; they bounce calls off multiple towers. That’s why they enjoy living in areas that are unconnected.”
The controversy
Dr Tijani’s comments about terrorists bouncing off multiple calls have severely criticised by netizens, some of whom say the minister has no clue about how technology works.
Multiple sources have faulted Dr Tijani’s claim, saying that his explanation was not true. Trending Explained, which provides context to trending news on social media, said the minister was wrong.
“Actually, this is misleading and inaccurate. All calls are naturally bounced through different towers from the nearest one till they get to the closest one to the destination of the call.
“And for every tower the signal hits, it leaves a residual log. The strongest tower holding the calls, keep the most data. This multihop process is normal cellular operation, not a special evasion method. In fact, while they could possibly use alien tech to bounce call signals through different towers, it would make tracking easier through triangulation. — This is the basic architecture of telecom systems.”
Trending Explained noted that “bouncing calls off different towers make it easier to track, unless terrorists use satellite phones to call.”
“But that’s not the case as many victims have confirmed. Even if a satellite phone is used, law enforcement can easily obtain log call metadata, numbers, timestamps, device IDs (IMEI/SIM), satellite link data, and sometimes location info, data from the provider through legal processes to determine where and when a satellite phone was used and approximate its position. In summary, calls can be tracked, bandit alien calls can be tracked, Starlink TikToker can be tracked and even intercepted,” it further explained.
Criticisms trail Tijani’s comments
On X, @Akinloyejosiah, who is a a tech founder and ethusiast, said Dr Bosun Tijani was ‘extremely wrong’ on his comments. “Yes—if bandits are ‘bouncing’ calls across different towers, that’s really possible. But tower hopping doesn’t remove the deeper radio/network fingerprints that telecom systems can see. Even if someone uses privacy-focused software like TAILS, that only protects the software layer. It doesn’t magically erase device/network traces such as device identifiers (e.g., IMEI where applicable), SIM identity, tower attachment logs, handover patterns, timing signals, and correlation trails that can be linked over time.”
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He continued, “And ‘they may not be using MTN/Airtel/etc.’ doesn’t make them invisible. They could be routing communications through: •Private LTE / Private 5G •MVNOs •VoIP over Wi-Fi •Microwave / point-to-point backhaul •Land mobile radio systems (DMR/TETRA/VHF/UHF) •Mesh networks •Satellite links •Or even designing their own local LoRa/LoRaWAN network, including mesh setups that can cover tens of kilometers under the right conditions. All of these still create signals that can be detected and investigated when the right capability and legal access exist.”
He added that it was wrong to treat the Ministry of Communications like a role that only needed general software engineering experience, stressing that the it required deep competence across telecom infrastructure, RF/network operations, carrier-grade security, device realities, and security coordination—not just apps and software.
Another X user, @machinemafia, said: “Even if they use Starlink, the Starlink dish(dishy) which uses GPS can provide more accurate location data than cell towers. But we know they don’t.”
Another X user, @jemiyolano, wrote: “Give youths chance , but here comes the youth.”
An X user, @7jJas, asked Google whether it was possible to bounce off multiple cell towers so that a call would not be traced. The answer returned thus: “No, you can’t easily ‘bounce’ calls off multiple towers to become untreaceable; cell networks are designed to track your devices to route calls, and while hopping between towers makes prcide location harder (especially in rual areas), authorities can still use cell site records (CDRs) and traingulation via multiple towers…”
Tijani defends self but didn’t admit errors
Dr Tijani, however, defended himself in an X post on Sunday, stating that he was misunderstood. However, he failed to address the heart of the matter.
“Over the past two days, there has been significant public discussion around a comment I made during an interview on Channels Television. I would like to clarify the intention behind that part of the conversation and encourage everyone to watch the full interview, – https://youtu.be/Ckxg8qOvqoo?si=Hdna2QzN8-FnEMOT – which was largely focused on the progress and impact of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme.
“In responding to a question during the interview, my objective was to explain that gaps in digital infrastructure and connectivity in some parts of the country represent a development and security vulnerability. These gaps limit economic opportunity, restrict access to services, and weaken coordination and inclusion. This is precisely why the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is making historic investments in digital infrastructure to ensure no part of Nigeria is left behind.”
He listed some of the efforts of the administration to boost the tech space. However, he failed to admit his errors, not did he specifically explain what he meant by terrorists using special technology to bounce off calls.
