The SIM card registration abuse

NIGERIANS must have been shell-shocked when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) indicated recently that it had uncovered cases of individual Nigerians personally registering over 100,000 phone lines!  According to the commission, this discovery was made in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through the ongoing National Identification Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) linkage exercise. Under the NIN-SIM linkage policy, an individual is allowed to register a maximum of four SIM cards per network operator, excluding SIMS that the individual may wish to use in Internet of Things (IOT) devices such as activity trackers. NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, who revealed this in a statement through which the commission announced September 14 as the final deadline for linking National Identification Numbers (NINs) to SIMs, said:“The commission remains committed to working with security agencies and other stakeholders to crack down on the sale of pre-registered SIMs, thereby safeguarding national security and ensuring the integrity of mobile numbers in Nigeria. The NCC also reminds the public that the sale and purchase of pre-registered SIMs are criminal offenses punishable by imprisonment and fines. We encourage citizens to report any such activities to the NCC.”

To be sure, we are not opposed to such critical agencies as the NCC and the NIMC working together. As a matter of fact, this is their avowed intention. In March, a statement jointly signed by the Technical Adviser, Media, and Communications to the DG/CEO of NIMC, Ayodele Babalola, and the Director of Public Affairs of NCC, Reuben Muoka, indicated that the two agencies had entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at enhancing processes related to the National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM linkage. Under this collaboration, the agencies were to explore synergies and leverage each other’s expertise and resources in multiple areas to, among other things, streamline the NIN-SIM linkage process. The partnership, it was said, would also lead to harmonisation of regulation to remove obstacles in the process of the NIN-SIM linkage exercise.

Said the statement: “NIMC and NCC will collaborate to ensure a seamless experience for Nigerian telecommunication subscribers. This includes exploring innovative approaches to facilitate the swift verification and authentication of NINs during SIM registration and activation processes. Both agencies will collaborate on initiatives aimed at enhancing public awareness and understanding of the NIN-SIM linkage requirements. This includes educational campaigns, training sessions for stakeholders, and the dissemination of accurate information to the public to encourage compliance with the linkage directives. NIMC will continue to extend its support to NCC by providing assistance in verifying NINs associated with SIM registrations. Leveraging NIMC’s robust database and authentication infrastructure, telecommunication operators will validate submitted NINs while ensuring the accuracy and integrity of subscriber data. NIMC and NCC will collaborate on aligning policies and regulatory frameworks to facilitate the seamless integration of NIN-SIM linkage processes within the telecommunications ecosystem. This includes harmonizing data protection and privacy regulations to safeguard the confidentiality and security of subscriber information.”

Truth be told, there is no cause for cheer at the moment, and neither the NCC’s September 14 final deadline for the synchronisation of SIMS  with NIN nor its so-called revelation is worthy of any applause. To say the very least, we are not impressed by the registration system that enables the kind of fraud that it has pointed attention to. It is a no-brainer that a reliable, efficient and trustworthy electronic registration system ought to be able to easily detect multiple registrations. It is galling that the NIMC’s system permitted the kind of patently criminal, duplicate registrations gleefully referenced while purveying the idea that it had been working hard to make the country much more secure than it previously was. Just how can the system be so porous as to allow an individual to register 100,000 lines? Is it not embarrassing that the government agency in charge of the registration of SIM cards in Nigeria would publicly admit to finding out that some Nigerians registered more than 100,000 lines to their names under its watch? That was what the NIMC told the NCC. What exactly was the NIMC doing while the heinous multiple registrations were going on? And what has been the usefulness of the linkage of the NIN to SIM cards if many still ended up having  thousands of phone lines registered to them?

Who are those behind these SIM registration crimes? Was there internal connivance and sabotage within the NIMC? Nigerians deserve to have the true picture of things. If the maximum an individual is supposed to register is four SIMS, how then was a single individual able to register as many as 100,000 SIMS? And what has happened to the suspects? Are they undergoing interrogation or prosecution? As everyone knows, kidnappers have been doing their demonic business unhindered in spite of the SIM-NIN linkage that Nigerians have been subjected to.  Indeed, there have been credible reports that terrorists from other countries obtained the NIN before some Nigerians! The way the government and its agencies carry on, disturbing Nigerians with all kinds of impositions while criminals continue their horrendous activities, it is difficult not to see the country as a huge joke.

Let us hope that the shame of the current disclosure will move the NCC, NIMC and other concerned agencies to up their ante and avoid a repeat of the present episode.

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