Ali Ndume has alleged that the Nigerian government is monitoring his phone conversations, sparking concerns about surveillance and the nation’s security priorities.
Ndume made the claim on Thursday while speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
Responding to questions, the senator said he had been warned multiple times to be cautious about what he says on the phone because his conversations were being tracked.
When asked directly if the government was monitoring him, Ndume replied in the affirmative.
The lawmaker, however, said he does not consider the alleged monitoring a major issue, noting that Nigeria is currently facing serious security challenges.
He questioned why security agencies appear unable to track terrorists effectively, despite their alleged capacity to monitor public figures, pointing to cases where criminal groups openly share their activities on social media platforms like TikTok.
He said: “You can imagine the bandits, the terrorists in Nigeria have the audacity to be reporting their atrocities on Tiktok and then disperse and sending it out to people.
“I believe that if telephone can be tracked, and where Ndume or politically exposed persons can be tracked, I begin to wonder what is going on?
“They have tracking system all over. I’ve been warned several times that look, be careful on what you say on the phone, because the phone is being monitored.
“So if I can be monitored, I kept getting confused as to why can’t they come…
“If you as a journalist can get information about me, what stops the security agencies or the intelligence agencies to get information about the whereabout for the activities of terrorists.”
When asked if the government is monitoring his phone, Ndume insisted and answered: “Yes”.
“I don’t have problem with that (government monitoring my phone). The whole Nigeria is country of concern now, but that’s not a big deal anyway,” the Senator added.
