The Nigerian communications commission(NCC) has stated that it will begin the arrest and prosecution of sellers and purchasers of Pre-Registered SIM cards in Nigeria, stating that these SIM cards are being used to perpetuate fraud and other criminal activities in the country.
Pre-registered SIM cards are SIMs that have been registered by network agents before they are then sold to members of the public who do not want to use their true identities for the registration of the SIMs.
The Commission, in a statement issued last week to announce a final date to the linkage of all SIMs to NINs, stated that the sale and purchase of pre-registered SIMs are criminal offenses under Nigerian law, and punishable by imprisonment and fines.
It further called on citizens to report cases of the sale or purchase of these SIMs to the Commission through its social media and toll free line (622).
In its statement, signed by Mr Reuben Muoka, the Director Public Affairs, the Commission stated that through collaboration with the National Security Adviser and the National Identity Management Commission, it had uncovered cases of single individuals owning hundreds of thousands of SIM cards.
It said: “Through collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the NCC has uncovered alarming cases where individuals possessed an unusually high number of SIM cards—some exceeding 100,000.
“The Commission also 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 NIN-SIM Linkage of the Federal Government of Nigeria has been in place since December 2020. The NCC, in this statement notes that this would be the final deadline on the compulsory linkage of SIMS to NIN.
The NCC in its statement stated that it had instructed all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to complete the mandatory verification and linkage of SIMs to NINs by September 14, 2024, to guarantee complete compliance with the NIN-SIM linkage policy.
“The Commission anticipates that no SIM in Nigeria will be registered without being linked to a valid NIN as of September 15th 2024.
“We appeal to all members of the public who are yet to link their SIM cards to their NIN or who faced difficulties while doing their NIN- SIM linkage to visit their service providers before the due date.”
