How phones can be used to track kidnappers

Sunday Dare, one of the 43 ministerial nominees, on Thursday spoke on how phones can be used to track kidnappers.

He said this while responding to questions from the lawmakers during the ministerial screening exercise on Thursday.

Mr Dare, currently an Executive Commissioner at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), explained possible steps to take to negotiations made by kidnappers via phone.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, posed the question.

Mr Dare stated that kidnapping has been a worry to not just regulators but Nigerian citizens as well.

According to him, arresting kidnapping requires a collaborative effort.

“We have a sim registration database inclusive of 172 million subscribers, providing the necessary biometrics of the users after which we began a process of verification and screening.

“In the last three years, we have worked with NIMC to scrub data and get them back. We have done over 50 million and have captured at least 85 per cent of every sim in this country in terms of registration…

“Until the kidnapping is done, until phone call is made, no software to monitor 172 million users,” he explained.

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While stating that it is difficult for him to explain the process of triangulation, he said the most significant step is the attempt to create a national citizen database.

“NCC working to sanitise sim registration. I cannot disclose the details of the process,” he said.

Mr Dare added that the commission has three task forces in Lagos checking agencies giving out unregistered sim cards.

The nominee answered many more questions ranging from cybercrime to dropped calls. For this, he said, is a challenge in the telecommunications industry.

He also said telecommunications infrastructure is another major challenge in the industry.