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.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
