NCC warns against outsourcing SIM identity

Joy Agwunobi

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has cautioned subscribers against delegating the registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to domestic staff, warning that such practice constitutes a crime and exposes owners to serious risks.

Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the NCC, issued the warning during a recent interactive session with the media in Abuja. He clarified that there are currently no unregistered SIM cards operating on Nigerian telecom networks, as the nationwide registration exercise had long been concluded.

“Right now, I can authoritatively say that no unregistered SIM is operating in the network, even though there might be issues where a registered SIM is being used by somebody who is not the person who registered it,” Maida said.

He explained that many subscribers were guilty of circumventing the process by sending drivers, housekeepers, or aides to register SIM cards on their behalf in order to conceal their own identities. “If you send your driver or house help to register a SIM simply because you don’t want your identity to be known, you are committing a crime,” he cautioned, adding that the commission cannot be held responsible for misuse of SIMs by third parties.

The EVC stressed the need for continuous public enlightenment on the implications of such practices. According to him, if SIM cards registered in someone else’s name are later linked to criminal activity, the real owners risk embarrassment and legal consequences.

“We will intensify efforts to educate people on the dangers, because if anything happens, nobody will accept the excuse of paying N5,000 for someone else to register a SIM on your behalf,” he warned.

On concerns over SIM misuse for financial or cybercrime, Maida explained that while registration cannot prevent criminal intent, it provides a basis for law enforcement tracking. “The fact that somebody has a mobile phone doesn’t mean a criminal will not want to use it. The issue is, can they be tracked? The answer is yes. Security agencies, in collaboration with the commission, are actively tracking cases where mobile devices are used for crime. But without collaboration, we cannot do much,” he said.

Beyond the SIM registration issue, Maida disclosed that the NCC is introducing new measures to improve transparency and service delivery in the telecom sector. He revealed that a Consumer Satisfaction Index and a Compliance Index will soon be released to show which operators receive the most complaints, how well they adhere to regulatory obligations, and the quality of services they provide.

“The biggest elephant in the room is quality of service. By publishing this information and notifying the operators of our findings, we believe many of them will take swift action,” he said.

He further announced that only operators with clean regulatory records and high customer satisfaction ratings will stand to benefit from over a billion dollars in expected industry investments.

Maida also revealed plans to launch a public network coverage map by September, which will allow consumers to check the best-performing network in their specific locations using crowdsourced performance data from users’ devices.