Boko Haram: Experts Chide Group over Threat to Telcos

Telecom experts  have chided Boko Haram, which claims responsibility for deadliest attacks in the country and urged concerted efforts to protect telecommunications equipment to avert possible collapse of the critical national infrastructure, following warning by the radical Islamist group that it will attack mobile firms it claims are spying on them, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now report.
Boko Haram, accused telecom operators and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the regulator of complicity with security agents in bugging the phones of sect members to track them.
Abdul Qaqa, spokesman of Boko Haram had in a phone conference with reporters in Maiduguri, capital of Bornu state, said “we have realised that the mobile phone operators and the NCC have been assisting security agencies in tracking and arresting our members by bugging their lines and enabling the security agents to locate the position of our members”.
He boasted that the government was not able to stop their determination to get at the telcos adding that: “No matter what, we cannot be deterred. No amount of arrest of leaders will stop us from striking, but like I said; we will strike and it will be soon”.
But in swift reaction to the group’s terror threat against the mobile firms, Engr. Bayo Banjo, president, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) said the Boko Haram group is naive or pretends it does not understand that satellite technology can easily be deployed to track them.
Banjo insisted that security agencies do not need cooperation of Nigerian telecommunications companies to track their movements.
“The deployment of a number of US satellites in orbit can fish them out anywhere they are as the United States government is working with the Nigerian government on counter-terrorism” Banjo added.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that recent advancement in technology enables security agencies to use such tools as Google Latitude to track a call. It works with a mobile phone and you can build what is essentially a GPS network of friends, without the need for GPS technology
According to Google, the Latitude does not even need GPS, and it will work on almost any mobile phone that can use Google Maps; including Android-powered devices, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile 5.0+ and Symbian.
Ike Nnamani, managing director, Medallion, a telecom interconnect clearing house noted that the group is merely playing to the gallery.
“Boko Haram is a terrorist group, whichever way they see it. The threat is a way to create more hype in order to gain attention. There is no way they won’t use communication.
“This threat is not different from any other threat they have made in the past to churches and government establishments. If they have a problem with the government, they should dialogue with the government. No individual or group is bigger than the government and they should not see violence as a way to solve their problems,” said Nnamani.
Reuben Muoka, head of media and public relations at the NCC refused to respond to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek’s inquiry on the matter. An email sent to him was not replied; neither did he pick calls from the reporter.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that this is not the first time the telecom industry has come under attack by armed groups in parts of the country.
In 2010, six hapless telecommunications maintenance workers were killed in Aba, Abia State.
The workers, including two policemen were said to have gone to carry out maintenance operation at a base transmission station in Aba.
Abraham Chito, an investment expert warned that if unwarranted threat to the industry is allowed to continue, it will spell doom.
“The immediate effect will be negative impact in further investment in the sector with the attendant ripple effects on the economy including job losses, reduced taxation to the government and so on” Chito added.