Insecurity: Why tracking kidnappers remains difficult despite SIM-NIN linkage

Nigerians are currently worried and questioning the need for the stress they passed through to register their Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards and link them to the National Identification Number (NIN) as directed by the Federal Government if kidnapping for ransom still goes on unabated after the hectic exercise, which the government claimed would reduce the crime to the barest minimum. Security operatives in the country, including those of the Department of State Services (DSS) and police as well as private security experts, made mind-boggling revelations to The Guardian that should keep the government on its toes to make the strategy work, CHIJIOKE IREMEKA writes:

Despite the mandatory registration for the National Identification Number (NIN) and linking the same to the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards ordered by the Federal Government in a move to tackle kidnapping and reduce the criminal act to the barest minimum, security operatives in the country have continued to find it very difficult to track the perpetrators and their accomplices, thus the crime rages with huge sums of money lost.

The Federal Government, in 2010, through the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), ordered telecom operators to begin the registration of all SIM cards in the country following outcry against the rising cases of kidnap and claim by various professionals that the exercise would help in fighting violent crimes in Nigeria. The government also directed the subscribers to link their SIMs with the NIN to make it easy for security operatives to track kidnapping and negotiation for ransom between the kidnappers and victims’ families with a view to arresting, prosecuting the perpetrators of the crime.

The government warned that any unregistered SIM card would be denied access to telephone calls, directing the telcos to suspend all such cards until their subscribers have registered them in accordance with the directives.

According to Sections 19 and 20 of the Nigerian Communications Commission (Registration of Telephone Subscribers) Regulations, 2011, telecommunications firms are expected to register all subscribers in their database to ensure the traceability of all users.

Consequently, in December 2020, the NCC ordered telecos to deactivate any SIM card that was not duly registered and linked to the subscriber’s identification numbers. Several times, the deadline for completion of the exercise was postponed so that every subscriber would be able to complete the NIN-SIM linkage.

The directive was contained in a joint statement issued by the Director of Public Affairs of the NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, and the Head of Corporate Communications of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Olagoke.

The Guardian gathered that the government decided to enforce the linkage of SIMs to NIN as part of efforts to improve the security situation in the country hoping that it would be easy to track a kidnapper or a crime syndicate through their phone calls.

A former president of the Nigeria Internet Registration Authority (NiRA), Sunday Folayan, said the Federal Government’s order that telecoms companies should restrict outgoing calls for telephone lines yet to comply with the SIM-NIN linkage policy from April 4, 2022 was a good decision, though would have its own implications on the economy.

“By the time all Nigerians have linked their NINs to their SIM cards, it would indirectly improve security of the country, it would help in tracing a call from a registered SIM. It’s difficult to trace a call from an unregistered SIM, but if all SIM cards are registered and linked to NIN, it would be easier to trace the calls. One of the reasons the government wants Nigerians to follow that directive is because it can help improve security in the country,” he said.

Later, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy directed the NCC to embark on audit of the Subscriber Registration Database again to ensure compliance by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) with the set quality standards and requirements of SIM card registration as issued by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the NCC. In compliance, the MNOs directed immediate suspension of sale, registration and activation of new SIM cards until the audit exercise was concluded.

“MNOs are to please note that non-compliance with this directive will be met with strict sanctions, including the possibility of withdrawal of operating license,” the government threatened.

The minister earlier directed in January 2020 that all Nigerians should immediately secure digital identification number from the NIMC and submit the same to their Network Operators for linkage. As of the end of February 2022, active General System of Mobile communication (GSM) lines had hit 197, 768, 482. The total active lines were 198, 123, 431 while the total number of connected GSM lines stood at 303,636, 267, according to data from the NCC after the auditing.

It was observed that after majority of the subscribers have complied with this directive, the desired outcome appeared elusive, as kidnapping, ransom negotiation and payment have continued. This reality has triggered bad feelings among Nigerians who now lament the stress they went through, waking up early in the morning, standing in the sun, tipping NIMC officials to be attended to and paying as high as N8, 000 to other NMIC’s agents to register and obtain a NIN.

On whether the SIM-NIN linkage has achieved anything with regard to tackling insecurity in the country, Dr. Katch Ononuju, said: “No, we have not achieved this because the Nigerian government has not developed the political will to curb the crisis. The SIM-NIN linkage has been used to zero-in on the the terrorists, the problem is the absence of political will on the part of President Muhammandu Buhari to allow the military to do the needful.”

A kidnap victim, Mallam Yusha, said security agents in his village, Jangeme, Zamfara State, did nothing to trace the telephone calls of the bandits who kidnapped him even when his abductors’ cellphone numbers were provided to the police.

His relatives were kidnapped but he and his people negotiated with the criminals for the purpose of releasing the victims. They concluded on the amount to be paid as ransom but he went to the meeting point for payment with less than the amount agreed upon, with a plea to pay up the balance later, but his relatives’ captors collected the ransom and seized him too.

He lamented that the ransom was eventually paid fully yet the police could not track the criminals. “As soon as I got there, they received the money and refused to allow me to return home, saying that the remaining balance of N1.6 million must be paid otherwise, they would not release me and the other seven people.”

He alleged that the security operatives didn’t render any assistance in tracing the telephone calls of the bandits despite the fact that they (security operatives) in his village were aware of the situation and all SIMs have been linked to NIN.

“The security officers posted to my village knew what was happening, but they didn’t make any attempt to use the telephone number sent by the bandits who kidnapped us to track them. For all we know, the police usually contact members of the families of kidnap victims that are in touch with the criminals. The SIM registration does not seem to add any improvement to efforts at solving the security problem. As a matter of fact, it is getting worse. We are not aware that security agencies have tracked and arrested bandits,” he lamented.

Asked why the security operatives have not been able to track kidnapers negotiating ransom payment on mobile phones, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, only said, “All agencies, ministries and departments work together to tackle kidnapping, and we will not relent in our efforts to decimate the activities of criminals in Nigeria.”

For the avoidance of doubt, all active SIMs in Nigeria today are registered and linked to NIN. Those subscribers whose SIMs have not been linked to their NIN are currently barred from making calls (outgoing calls), hence cannot call anybody but can receive calls.

On why the SIM-NIN linkage is not achieving the desired result, a senior security personnel who spoke to The Guardian on the condition of anonymity, blamed it on alleged refusal of the people to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

The source said Nigerians had lost confidence in the security agencies and no longer share intelligence that could lead to arrest of bandits and kidnappers, and families of abducted persons were not liaising with security operatives but would simply negotiate with the kidnappers.

“It is not as if the police are not working. Over 400 kidnappers have been arrested in Kaduna. These were confirmed kidnappers who were apprehended while collecting ransoms. The problem is that the authorities have not been able to prosecute them and the public needs to know what is happening,” he explained.

It was learnt that people are no longer reporting abduction cases to the police. They see it as a waste of time and now prefer to sell their property to pay the ransom and free their loved ones from the kidnappers’ den unhurt.

A source in the DSS, an agency saddled with the responsibilities of maintaining internal security, surveillance as well as investigating serious crimes against the state, explained why it has been difficult achieving success with the SIM-NIN linkage.

He listed non-availability of required devices; frequency with which the crimes are committed; the urgency of the other rescue operations; lack of personnel, funds for mobility of the team for operations, precision assessment; intelligence on the part of the syndicates; personal interest and emotional challenges while in operations.

“We use the caller’s number to get all the information we need to work with in tracking the criminals, but the truth remains that the person calling me from the village might have up to 10 lines. When he calls from my village, he will switch off the line and go to another location within the state or outside the state to call again with another line.

“When you try to track him again, he may go to another location and call with another line. This is how you will continue to track these lines. But when you can’t track them again, we try to understand the people that the criminals communicate with on regulator basis because once they remove that SIM, you won’t be able to locate them again. In every location, there is a mask that controls each call.

“So, when you called, I was able to track that you were in Lagos with the help of the mask that controls the call. And you move to Ogun State with the same line and I have seen it that you have moved from Lagos to Ogun. I have that information about you and the phone you are using. After sometime, the phone will go off and I will not be able to track you again because I can only get the information when the phone is on.

“Once you drop that phone, it will be difficult for me to track you. Then, he will use another phone and you begin to track the new line to know whether there is a link between the first line and the second line. If there is a link, fine. We will know that it’s the same person but if there is no link, we will go through the kidnapper’s Call Data Records (CDR) because there is somebody the kidnapper communicates with on that phone on regular basis. It could be his wife or friend. Once we find the person, we begin to track him because he will help us get our target. He’s not our target but a means to an end.”

According to the source, the time the security operatives encounter more challenge is when dealing with telecom providers when the company’s workers will behave as if they are in collaboration with the criminals for the kidnap.

“Where we have hitches is with the telecom providers. It’s easier for me because my office bought the machine that we are using in tracking these people in the office. But it’s a very costly machine and because of that, majority of the operatives depend on the telecom providers to track these people.

“Ordinarily, you are going to the network providers to give you CDR and they would be telling you that they don’t have data and that system is down or up. At times, you won’t know whether it is a collaborative effort between them and the kidnappers. Sometimes you go to the police and they will find a way of frustrating you and exploiting the person. They will never narrow it down.”

He said that tracking was not the only problem they encountered, noting that when they have successfully tracked a kidnapper, they would also think of the logistics – how to mobilise the team that will carry out the operation if the location is not within their jurisdiction or immediate environment.

“We may also find out by our intelligence that there are more criminals on ground where we are going to. So, I think of the safety of the people that are coming for that operation. While we are doing this, more people are being kidnapped. So, it’s not only that one case that we are tracking and pursuing.

“Sometimes, we have some issues that make people think that the security operatives don’t want to do their jobs. We may be trying to track them, and they release their victim. We may say we want to arrest them and another person is being kidnaped at gunpoint. We will leave that your own and go and rescue that person first. These are some of the factors that are militating against these operations.

“At times, the challenges are too much. If you are trying to work on this, more crimes are being committed. How many of us are handling these matters? It’s not as if the security agents don’t know what to do. When you work and work, you won’t even understand what is happening to your body again.

“I may be pursuing a case in Lagos, just as I’m doing now and another person may be calling me from Abuja, yet I have my own problems. As we speak now, my son is not feeling fine and it’s only my wife that is running up and down. By extension, I’m sick too because when I’m not mentally stable, you can’t get the best from me. Everybody is complaining to me but my own problem is at home waiting for me.

“The criminals know that they are the criminals. They are on offensive while we are on defensive. If you are tracking kidnapers now and they know you are on their case, they can attack you with their syndicates. So, you have to be careful too or they kill you. I will not carry my boys and come here because a suspect is there without thinking of how to make the operation successful. The same way we operate and plan, they are planning too. They know that when they call with one line, we can track them, so they will get another SIM and call. Technologically, everybody is upgrading.”