NCC moves to checkmate fraudulent sale of pre-registered SIM cards

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed this in a statement made in line with the Nigerian Communications Commission NCA act 2003 and the commission’s registration of telephone subscribers regulations of 2011 and signed by the commission's director of public affairs, Reuben Muoka.

The NCC’s fight against the use and sale of pre-registered sim cards has come a long way as individuals have created more ways to evade the commission's watchful eyes.

The NCC had earlier warned telecom consumers to avoid patronising sellers of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) as such sim cards were mostly used to perpetrate dangerous activities in the country like terrorism, kidnapping and financial crimes.

According to Section 11 of the Nigerian Communication Commission, (Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations, 2021) registration agents and subscriber registration solution providers have been instructed to register and transmit to the biometrics and other personal information of subscribers who request the activation of the licensee's subscription medium to the Central Database.

Despite the FG’s Sim Linkage plan which was introduced in December 2020 mandating subscribers to link their (SIM) cards with their National Identity Numbers, (NIN), this process has been sabotaged by some bad elements as they have continued to falsify SIM registration details.

A past investigation by Sahara Reporters revealed that with just ₦1000, an individual would purchase a pre-registered SIM in the country.

This fraud associated with the sale of pre-registered SIM prompted the commission to organise a three-day raid in some parts of Lagos based on a report from the office of the National Security Adviser about the prevalence of pre-registered SIM cards at some locations in Lagos.

According to Muoka, the NCC’s position as a telecom regulator mandates it to continue monitoring activities in the industry to ensure that all stakeholders comply with the extant laws, regulations, and directives as they apply to telecom governance in Nigeria.