Sim cards
The Federal government has ordered the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC) to immediately revise the Policy on SIM Card
registration and usage.
The directive was given by the Minister of Communications and
Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami through a statement signed by
his Technical Assistant, Information Technology, Dr. Femi Adeluyi on
Wednesday.
He said that the directive was in line with the Powers of the
Minister as stated in Section 25(1) of the Nigerian Communications Act
2003 – which stipulates that: “the Minister shall, in writing, from
time to time notify the Commission or and express his views on the
general policy direction of the Federal Government in respect of the
communications sector.”
According to the statement, ‘’the revision of the Policy is
based on the feedback received from the security agencies following the
successful revalidation of improperly registered SIM cards in September
2019 and the blocking of those that failed to revalidate their SIMs.’’
With this directive, the updated Policy from NCC is expected to
include the following provisions, amongst others: ensure that the
National Identity Number (NIN) becomes a prerequisite for Nigerians
registering new SIM cards (while for foreigners, their passports and
visas should be used), while already registered SIM cards are to be
updated with National Identity Number (NIN) before 1st December, 2020;
ensure that only fully accredited agents support the SIM card
registration process without pre-registering SIM cards themselves, while
the eventual registration should be done by the operators; there should
be a maximum number of SIM cards that can be tied to a single
individual, possibly a maximum of 3; ensure that no unregistered SIMs
are ever allowed on mobile networks; ensure that subscribers can easily
check the number of SIM cards registered to their name, along with the
associated phone numbers and networks
Also, the industry regulator is to ensure that mobile network
operators fortify their networks against cyber attacks and ensure that
they adhere to the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation
(NDPR); and ensure that SIM cards that have been used to perpetrate
crimes are permanently deactivated.
In the light of this development, the statement informed that NCC
is to provide the Minister with progress reports on the implementation
of the revised Policy.