Pre-registered SIM card usage thrives on despite sanction threats
By Omobayo Azeez
The war against sales and usage of pre-registered Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) cards in Nigeria is proving difficult to win for the authorities as the practice continues to thrive despite known consequences.
Last Thursday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) again raided the traders of pre-registered SIM cards in Kano metropolis.
The enforcement occurred three days after Isa Pantami, the minister of communications and digital economy, assured Nigerians that the country’s telecoms industry had been cleansed of working SIM cards that are neither registered nor properly registered on the systems of operators.
Pantami assured that currently, there are no pre-registered SIM cards still operating in the Nigerian telecoms industry following an earlier exercise by the NCC at the behest of the ministry to disconnect the last 9.4 million unregistered and poorly registered SIM cards in the country.
To reinstate this assurance, Pantami further challenged Nigerians to go out and comb the market themselves and that they will not find a single SIM card with the poor status.
He then threatened that after ridding Nigeria of sales of pre-registered subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, any party involved in the act again will face massive sanctions.
However, the NCC enforcement exercise conducted with the men of the Department of State Security Services and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSDC) revealed that people still sell and use pre-registered SIM cards in the country.
Addressing journalists on the exercise, Salisu Abdu, NCC head of enforcement said the exercise was conducted following a tip off that some people are selling registered SIM cards to consumers.
He said after receiving the report, the commission with the support of some security agencies raided the places and apprehended 11 persons.
Abdu said the suspects have revealed some major dealers who provide them with the pre-registered SIM cards.
“We want NSDC to invite these major dealers, interrogate them, find out how they come about with registered SIM cards, because SIM cards are to be personally registered – there should be no proxy registration.
“You cannot register with somebody’s name and as well use it,” he said.
Abdu observed that the emergence of pre-registered SIM cards in the market has contributed to the current security challenges facing the country.
According to him if SIM cards are properly registered, it will be easier for security personnel to trace the culprits.
He observed that the NCC law stipulated that each person is expected to register his SIM cards with his name and biometric data.
“The expectation is when you buy a new SIM card, you key in your personal details, your registration, your biometric, your personal email and so on.
“If there will be any security issue, it will be easy for security agencies to trace the owner of such SIM cards.
“That is the purpose of the exercise we are in Kano. Even this morning, we apprehended additional two suspects at Farm Centre. We bought the SIM card, we found it to be active,” he revealed.
While the dealers and sellers involved would be dealt with severely as indicated by the NCC, industry watchers have also called out the role of operators in the crime act.
Recall that sale and usage of pre-registered SIM cards in Nigeria has been long declared a criminal offence as those SIM cards are often used in perpetrating crimes by criminals who manage to escape being arrested because of lack of traceable information on the SIM cards.