The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has shed light on why security agencies struggle to apprehend armed bandits who boldly display ransom money on platforms like TikTok and other social media networks.
Speaking during an interview on Nigeria Info radio, Bwala was asked why ordinary Nigerians who express their frustrations online are swiftly tracked and arrested, while bandits—responsible for killings, kidnappings, and widespread destruction—continue to evade detection.
In his response, Bwala explained that most Nigerians use local internet service providers, making it easy for authorities to trace their digital footprints. However, many bandits rely on foreign or off-grid internet services.
According to him, “Nigeria has regulatory bodies that maintain databases of citizens and their phone numbers. When someone uses an internet service operating within Nigeria, security agencies can track their IP address. But if you are using Starlink, for example, we cannot trace it because Starlink is not registered in Nigeria — it operates from space. This same challenge exists in the Russia–Ukraine war.”
He added that many terrorists and bandits connect through cellular networks from neighbouring countries
