Indications emerged on Monday that governors of the 36 states may have decided to compel mobile phone operators to embrace the technology that will make it easy to trace kidnappers.



It was gathered that the development followed the increase in cases of kidnapping and the inability of the police to track down the culprits due to the unavailability of the technology used in locating such criminals abroad.



Chairman of the Governors Forum, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who spoke to journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State capital on Monday, criticised mobile operators operating in Nigeria for defaulting in their responsibility, noting that kidnapping had become a purely technology-driven crime.



Saraki noted that the ‘’business’’ of kidnapping was booming in the country because abductors could continue to communicate with the police for over a week with their location remaining unknown.



Saraki, who is also the governor of Kwara State said, “I want to express my concern on the issue of kidnapping on behalf of the governors forum. Though we are happy that the journalists have been released, we need to deal with the issue of kidnapping very decisively.



“The issue of kidnapping has to do with communications technology; we can abuse Ogbonna Onovo (Inspector-General of Police) from today till tomorrow, it will not help the issue. Kidnapping thrives because the criminals know that even when they make calls through their phones, they will not be caught.



“When these abductors know that when they make a call, they will be caught 30 seconds later, then the issue of kidnapping would reduce.



“It is booming because police can continue to communicate with the criminals for a week and they will not be located.”



Flaunting a letter he had written to the security agencies in the country, to compel GSM operators to purchase the required technology, Saraki accused the operators of becoming accomplices in the menace of kidnap.



The letter reads in part, “I am deeply concerned about the nonchalant attitude of these telecommunication companies (names withheld). It tends to suggest that they place business consideration above the security of lives of innocent citizens, even if their product is actively employed in the perpetration of crime.”










http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201007204322046

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When these abductors know that when they make a call, they will be caught 30 seconds later, then the issue of kidnapping would reduce

and this is your panacea , dont be daft.

ode remo:

“and this is your panacea , dont be daft.

isn't this is a better idea than sim-registration at least. this is what the reps should have done instead of foolishly turning Nigeria to a police-state.

Atleast he is talking sense, that is what the IG should have insisted on; It is a very easy thing to implement, don't even think it needs implementation as it exist within their network and should be available to the police by law with them needing to request it to locate the kidnappers, anyone that knows anything about how GSM works knows this, It smacks of plain stupidity and ignorance that enables a crime blow out of proportion when it could easily be contained.

This is crap, the GSM companies do not need special equipments to track the calls these kidnappers make. As far they are done with GSM phones, it can be tracked. How are stolen cars tracked? Are they not fitted with SIM cards which will respond every time a call is made to that GSM number, with that, the exact position of the car is traced. So i think somebody is fooling somepeople here.

Moves:

Atleast he is talking sense, that is what the IG should have insisted on; It is a very easy thing to implement, don't even think it needs implementation as it exist within their network and should be available to the police by law with them needing to request it to locate the kidnappers, anyone that knows anything about how GSM works knows this, It smacks of plain stupidity and ignorance that enables a crime blow out of proportion when it could easily be contained.

You are spot on  - Every mobile device is always connected to a base station which clearly confirms the radius of where the call is coming from .  I believe it is just down to pure laziness from the  part of the telecom operators and our useless government.  The mobile technology has so much advanced that you can accurately pinpoint a device to a 100 Meter radius.

In order for them to fit tracking on your line you'll need to migrate from extra-connect/cool to extra-track which will increase your call price to 45naira per minute and would not include family and friends or free night call.

To migrate to extra-track dail #419#911* migrating costs 500Naira.

Considering the high cost of telecomm service in Nigeria today, I will not be shocked if people are asked to once again pay more money to have their phones registered and tracked.

What they should tracking is the ransom package with police as the deliverers.

Kobojunkie:

Considering the high cost of telecomm service in Nigeria today, I will not be shocked if people are asked to once again pay more money to have their phones registered and tracked.

You are correct - i guess any opportunity to make money - but you dont even need to have a phone registered before it can be tracked - Even on the internet you have services where phones can  be tracked how much more a telecoms company - for example you can track you children's location.

redsun:

What they should tracking is the ransom package with police as the deliverers.

Spot on - so many ways to make this crime less favorable - but as we have a useless government it will never see daylight

I have never seen a situation where kidnappers get away so easily even when the police are aware of the crime.

It is easy to take over nigeria with good plans,basic killing machines and coordinated logistics.

Technologies that work seemlessly everywhere but bring to the Nigera na different story  - Just look at how ATM Machines  robs people but works well everywhere else.

redsun:

I have never seen a situation where kidnappers get away so easily even when the police are aware of the crime.

blacksta:

You are correct - i guess any opportunity to make money - but you dont even need to have a phone registered before it can be tracked - Even on the internet you have services where phones can  be tracked how much more a telecoms company - for example you can track you children's location.

I know that and they are well aware of that. But since they are in already in africa's biggest market, charging outrageously high prices for shoddy services, why not go for more if they can from the masses who seem all too willing to pay up?  Shebi na capitalism at it's best? ROFLMAO!!

The only thing we do best with our reesources is evil.Anything good,they say nigeria is not worth it,even those complaining do say that.

No bi nigeria,e no go work,they say.Why they think they don't deserve sanity nad uprightness is what baffles me.

redsun:

It is easy to take over nigeria with good plans,basic killing machines and coordinated logistics.

maybe, maybe not.

redsun:

The only thing we do best with our reesources is evil.Anything good,they say nigeria is not worth it,even those complaining do say that.

No bi nigeria,e no go work,they say.Why they think they don't deserve sanity nad uprightness is what baffles me.

Such sweeping statements are always incorrect.

na 2day yesh dey 4 back.

“When these abductors know that when they make a call, they will be caught 30 seconds later, then the issue of kidnapping would reduce.

30 seconds, have mercy.

“It is booming because police can continue to communicate with the criminals for a week and they will not be located.”

even if they are at their doorsteps they would not catch them.

Kobojunkie:

Considering the high cost of telecomm service in Nigeria today, I will not be shocked if people are asked to once again pay more money to have their phones registered and tracked.

If any Telecoms coy tries that, they should ideally have their license revoked, This is at no cost to the telecoms coy atall, It is just sheer incompetence that allows such crimes to thrive, All the police needs to do is ask for it, simple, as it is a basic component of the GSM network, without it, mobile phones wont work, as stated by blacksta you have to be connected to a base station,

Okija_juju:

In order for them to fit tracking on your line you'll need to migrate from extra-connect/cool to extra-track which will increase your call price to 45naira per minute and would not include family and friends or free night call.

To migrate to extra-track dail #419#911* migrating costs 500Naira.

I'm sure you work for MTN ,

damilola15:

30 seconds, have mercy.

No,he meant 30 days,

Blame it on the GSM companies, not the police.
are the GSM coys not being regulated by govt?
we are always good at not taking responsibilities.

Theblessed:

Yeah, police will blame their inefficiency and incompetencies on any one, won't they  Blame the GSM Companies when they hadn't made much efforts in finding out from their counterparts all over the world on how they deal/tackle their own criminal issues in this our modern time - our technologically advanced world, instead of moaning. 

Get the government to support the GSM Companies (if they're serious about crime prevention in this Country), by investing money in the technology that way crime will reduce, but it won't disappear because, human beings are still on this planet and thinking and planning evil even as they sleep.

Why do we always expect Government to do everything for us in this country? The GSM rate we is the highest in the whole world yet they can not provide ther services for us except fraudulent promos where they further collect the money of the citizens. Why do we always cry for Government this, Government that?

snowdrops:

Such sweeping statements are always incorrect.

I wonder what  correct means to you in a country where the government does not keep record of generated revenues and expenditures.

Some people are finding it difficult to believe that obasanjo squandered sixteen billion dollars in name of providing electricity even in the face of abysmal darkness and no cogent explanation of what the sixteen billion was used for.

well maybe when they kidnap Onovo, we'll know that e don be!

Expecting order in nigeria with the rogue system we have and with more rogues intending to come in nest year is like expecting peace in somalia with the madness going on there.

You don't need sim card registration to track calls and phone. I bought a line in Tel Aviv in 2005 and have be using that line since then even when i didn't travel for over a year, when eventually i did, surprisingly it was still functional. Back home, you don't use your line for three months, the GSM operations authomatically blocks it.

The GSM operators here in Nigeria are crooks and know the right tghing to do but our thieving Senators and Representatives have being bought over. We need like 50 Dino Melayes in the National Assembly to continue to raise alarm to cprruption.

These GSM companies already have the technology in place to track phones right to the point of its location. I have witnessed an episode where a guy stole goods from a friend and through the help of his in-law working in one of the telecoms firms the guy was located up to the point of the room in which he was sleeping. The thing is there are procedures for these things like getting court injunctions and all that. Its just like in the western countries, the law enforcement officers need some kind of court warrant to tap phones or search homes. The technology is so good that even with the phone off and the sim card out of the phone it can still be traced but even if you give information to the police men they will not do anything.

After making the calls between lagos ibadan expressway, heading to ibadan, he drops the call, dispose the sim and make a u turn back to lagos. what will the telecommunication company do here. Mislead!
better still they make calls at different locations far away from where the victims are.  Confusion!
Guys, the issue here is that THE STATE OF INSECURITY IN THE COUNTRY IS TOO HIGH.
hen we have proper checks and balancings, then we can think of how to put other things in place, but for all this to happen, we need u and me to be actively responsible for our societies.

A

The GSM rate we is the highest in the whole world.
The GSM company should live up to standard, but the statement in bold is wrong. You can find out from people that go to other parts of the world, Nigerian telephone bill is not the highest really.