The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned Nigerians against buying and using pre-registered Sim cards.
The Commission in a warning alert posted on its verified X platform handle said that buying and using pre-registered Sim cards was a criminal act and could attract severe consequences including imprisonment.
The Commission further stated that “Buying pre-registered SIM cards is criminal and may lead to imprisonment, implication in identity theft, financial fraud, kidnapping and armed robbery.”
According to NCC, buying and using pre-registered SIM cards leads to “Unreliable collation of consumer information,” and creates “Difficulty in tracking the real criminals using such telephones in the country.”
It called on Nigerians to follow the proper procedures for registration of their SIM cards to avoid any legal consequences.
Recall that NCC had in December 2020 directed Nigerian telecommunications companies to compel their subscribers to link their SIM cards to their National Identification Numbers (NIN).
The NCC made the linkage compulsory, directing all telecommunications operators to enforce complete network barring on all phone lines for which subscribers fail to link their SIM cards to their NINs.
Following the enforcement of the directive, there have been two phases, on February 28 and on March 29 when some Nigerians’ SIM cards were barred by telecommunications companies for not having been linked to NIN.
The Commission, however, extended the deadline for linking SIM cards to NIN (last phase) to from April 15 to July 31, 2024, stressing that the extension applies to subscribers with more than four SIM cards.
