Context :

Aims : We aim to determine the properties of the central region of NGC 1052 using X-ray and radio data .
NGC 1052 ( z=0.005 ) has been investigated for decades in different energy bands and shows radio lobes and a low luminosity active galactic nucleus ( LLAGN ) .

Methods : We use X-ray images from Chandra and radio images from Very Large Array ( VLA ) to explore the morphology of the central area .
We also study the spectra of the nucleus and the surrounding region using observations from Chandra and XMM-Newton .

Results : We find diffuse soft X-ray radiation and hotspots along the radio lobes .
The spectrum of the circum-nuclear region is well described by a thermal plasma ( T \sim 0.6 keV ) and a power law with photon index \Gamma \sim 2.3 .
The nucleus shows a hard power law ( \Gamma \sim 1.4 ) modified by complex absorption .
A narrow iron K \alpha line is also clearly detected in all observations , but there is no evidence for relativistic reflection .

Conclusions :

The extended emission is consistent with originating from extended jets and from jet-triggered shocks in the surrounding medium .
The hard power-law emission from the nucleus and the lack of relativistic reflection supports the scenario of inefficient accretion in an Advection Dominated Accretion Flow ( ADAF ) .