In a startling revelation, the government has announced that it has uncovered individuals with an unusually high number of Subscriber Identification Modules ,SIMs, exceeding 100.
Its agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, disclosed this in a statement just recently. Its spokesperson, Mr.Reuben Muoka further stressed that it was disturbing that individuals would be in possession of such large number of SIMs, given the fragile nature of our nation’s security.
The commission said that 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”.
According to NCC, the Number Identity Number and SIM linkage policy which kicked off in 2020 strengthens confidence in digital transactions, reduces the risk of fraud and cybercrime and supports greater participation in e-commerce, digital banking, and mobile money services.
“This, in turn, promotes financial inclusion and drives economic growth”, the Commission stated.
NCC noted that it is committed to working with stakeholders and security agencies to crack down on the sale of pre-registered SIMs endangering National security.
“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”, it stated.
This development comes as NCC fixed September 14, 2024, as the final deadline for compliance with NIN-SIM linkage.
It is even disastrous that several SIMs are daily churned out by dubious vendors who register SIMs in various NIN linkages and sell same to fraudulent individuals who perpetrate criminal activities without trace.
Many of these faceless registered SIM owners are paid to get involved by also getting paid by the vendor who in turn pass the cost on profit to the buyers.
We have had complaints of some fraudsters who can hardly be tracked as their true identity does not reflect the SIMs they have in their phones.
The NCC and the NIMC have a lot more to do to arrest these nefarious activities of these traders of evil.
It is our position that the ‘law’ should be strict on vendors who are caught aiding fraudulent practices through these huge registrations of SIMs.
We must not allow some greedy individuals throw us to backwards given that we are already seen as a nation full of corrupt tendencies. We must change the narrative as there is urgent wake up call to redeem our national image and this calls for deliberate attempt to do so.
We commend the NCC, NIMC and collaborators who brought to the fore this alarming scenario. However they must go the whole hub to ensure strict to the rules of the game so as to mitigate these extreme abuses by unscrupulous individuals.
It is even more annoying that some of these agents of fraud are in cahoot with foreign nationals from neighboring countries who take advantage of our porous borders to penetrate us dangerously.
The security implications are numerous and spells doom if we do not act fast.
