By Paul Effiong, Abuja
House of Representatives has called on the federal government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, to urgently investigate and mete out adequate sanctions against the illegal linkage of National Identity Number, NIN, by some telecommunication companies.
The lawmakers also directed its Committees on Communication and Interior to investigate the reports and take immediate actions against any service provider found to be culpable in this practice.
This was sequel to a motion moved during plenary yesterday by Patrick Umoh alongside the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere.
While soliciting for the support of his colleagues on the motion, Umoh raised concern over the recent reports of telecoms in Nigeria linking National Identification Numbers to subscribers lines without their consent, informing that such ugly trend is capable of exposing people to criminal activities, as well as subject legitimate NIN holders to grave risk and danger.
During the debate, lawmakers who spoke recognised that such illegal action was a clear violation of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, NDPR, 2019, which guarantees the right to privacy and protection of personal data of every Nigerian.
The House said it is aware that the National Identification Number was established to streamline the verification and identification of persons, as well as enhance security in the country.
The lawmakers maintained that the potential risks and consequences of this unauthorised data linking includes identity theft, financial fraud and other forms of cybercrime that have become rife in Nigeria in recent times.
The green chamber also stressed that innocent citizens had been wrongly implicated in crimes as they suffer reputational damage, harassment and legal challenges for crimes they know nothing about, even as they urged NCC to investigate these reports and take immediate actions against any telecom service provider found to be culpable.
