Senator Ali Ndume has alleged that his phone conversations are being monitored by government authorities, raising fresh concerns over surveillance practices in Nigeria amid a worsening security situation.

The senator made the claim during an appearance on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television on Thursday, where he disclosed that he had received multiple warnings advising him to be cautious about what he says over the phone.

Ndume said the warnings were not casual but pointed to what he believes is a deliberate effort to track his communications.

When asked directly if he thought he was under surveillance, the lawmaker responded unequivocally in the affirmative.

Despite the allegation, the Borno South senator downplayed its personal impact, insisting that his primary concern is the deteriorating state of security across the country.

He questioned why security agencies appear unable to effectively track criminal elements despite possessing surveillance capabilities.

He cited the growing trend of bandits and terrorist groups openly sharing videos of their operations online, particularly on TikTok, describing it as evidence of a troubling gap in intelligence and enforcement.

“You can imagine the bandits, the terrorists in Nigeria have the audacity to be reporting their atrocities on TikTok and then dispersing,” Ndume said.

“I believe that if a telephone can be tracked, and where Ndume or politically exposed persons can be tracked, I begin to wonder what is going on?” he added.

“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 whereabouts or the activities of terrorists.”

Senator Ali Ndume questioned why intelligence agencies have not leveraged similar tracking tools to curb the activities of criminal groups, noting that even journalists are sometimes able to obtain sensitive information.

When asked again if he was positive about the claimed surveillance, Ndume stuck to his guns and said, “Yes.”

He ended by saying that the phone monitoring doesn’t bother him personally, but what really worries him is the growing insecurity in Nigeria.

“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,” he said. (The Sun)