Years after the federal government directed the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to use the subscriber identity module (GSM) technology in checking the rising incidences of kidnapping and other criminal activities in the country, it seems like the more you see, the less you know as the incidences have continued unabated. ELEOJO IDACHABA takes a look at how the menace can be checked and whether or not SIMs are effective against this.
In Nigeria today, one of the major nightmares of many travellers is kidnapping which seems to have pushed armed robbery aside. It is the latest form of crime akin to the Boko Haram menace that has been wrecking most parts the North-east.
Investigations have shown that the kidnappers not only operate on the roads; they also pose as officials of power and water companies in the neighbourhoods to the surprise of unsuspecting public, all with the aim of getting at their targets. In some cases, they operate in cars as one chance, especially in Abuja metropolis.
What is, however, amazing is the fact that after they have successfully kidnapped their victim, their next mode of interaction with the relations of the victim is by using telephone conversations through which they demand for ransom as condition for releasing their captives.
According to the viral account of a kidnapped lady enroute Kaduna from Abuja which appeared on whatspp recently, “I was kidnapped on the Kaduna expressway. A few kilometres after Kaduna, shortly after the NYSC camp, around Dutse, we were assailed by a volley of gunfire targeted at the tyres of vehicles. Of course, all the vehicles trapped within the radius of fire had to stop and passengers ran across the expressway to the other side of the road. As we ran, we saw men in army camouflage wielding Ak-47s running after us and dragged us back to the side we had just fled from. We were then marched in a single file into the bush. We marched on for full six hours into the bush. There were no huts, no buildings, no farmlands; just endless vast arid land. I was able to gauge the time because I was still wearing my wrist-watch even though my phone and bag had been taken away by the kidnappers – same with the rest passengers. As soon as our phones were taken away, the SIMs were removed and auctioned to a certain ‘Yellow,’ that was the name of the person on the other end of the line who bargained for our phones.
“Then they started getting in touch with our people to demand for ransom. This was how they contacted our relatives. First of all, they asked us all to call out the numbers of our relatives who we wanted them to contact for our ransom; once we gave them the numbers, they would call and allow us to speak for just a few seconds before they collected the phones and made their demands. They used an old untraceable Nokia phone to make each of these calls and because they spoke in Hausa to us, and in Fulani to themselves, I wasn’t able to catch much of what was said among them.”
Also, a female lecturer in Rivers state was recently kidnapped and raped. Making her statement at the headquarter of 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, she said the kidnappers came to her apartment, opened the main gate, entered and whisked her away. She said her entire salary collected that day was transferred by the kidnappers who were also making demands to her husband to pay some money. According to her, the kidnappers were making ceaseless calls for the few days she spent with them in a certain forest. The list of kidnapping incidences is endless.
How it all started
In 2001, when the incidence of kidnapping started in Nigeria, especially in the oil-rich Niger Delta area, one of the steps taken by the government to track the criminals was a directive to the NCC to ensure that information on all subscribers on telecommunication networks be properly registered so that security agents can use the call logs of subscribers to track the criminals who use the phone to demand for ransom.
Bearing this in mind, the NCC commenced the pre-registration of all subscriber identity module cards otherwise known as SIM cards, with a warning that any subscriber that fails to do so would be met with stiff penalty. From the statistics released by the commission recently, a total of 151,449,837 registration data of subscribers have been processed with only 55,749,652 records valid. This translates to 63.2 per cent of the total record of invalid face capturing and fingerprints. The implication of this is that a total number of 95.7 million invalid SIM card registration was recorded within the same period, a development that calls for serious concern on national security especially now that kidnapping is on the increase across the length and breadth of the country.
In accepting the stark realities of the situation, Mr Sunday Dare, an executive commissioner, Stakeholders Management of NCC, represented by the director, Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Efosa Idehen, said at a recent forum that, “Today, cases of fraudulently-registered SIM cards have been aiding and abetting robbery cases, kidnappings, financial frauds and all manners of criminality where the anonymity of the registered subscribers makes criminal investigation difficult for the law enforcement agencies. That is why we will now consider national interest in the prosecution of arrested perpetrators of pre-registered SIM cards.
“Nigeria is close to having credible national citizens’ database that will be bequeathed to Nigerians by the Buhari administration and that will bring us at par with other developed countries. It will also help our security both within and outside the country and help our security relationship with other countries, especially in the fight against Boko Haram, the fight against terrorism and also the fight against kidnapping and banditry.”
According to Professor Umar Danbatta, the executive vice-chairman of the commission, “You know one thing with these criminals is that they are always one step ahead of you and even if every SIM card is properly registered, there will still be crime. The commission is, however, doing everything possible to track these elements and has even set up a task force to that effect.” He further said the criminal elements are not aware that the SIM cards are being tracked by the commission even as he said a task force had been put in place to curb the trend.
Prof Danbatta said, “The NCC is very sensitive to the fact that the Subscriber Registration Database is a veritable tool being used by security and law enforcement agencies in the detection and apprehension of criminal elements involved in heinous crimes like kidnapping, financial crimes, armed robberies, banditry, cattle rustling and other crimes which leverage on easy access to the national telecoms network. As such, we are determined to continue to ensure that all SIM cards are traceable to their real owners with the least effort.”
He also said, “Shortly, NCC will begin the second phase of its on-going audit of SIM registration data and registration processes across all Mobile Network Operator (MNO) platforms. Specifically, he said the aim is to monitor operators’ strict adherence to the technical and other specifications for the subscriber registration as prescribed by the NCC’s Telephone Subscribers Registration Regulations of 2011 and the Technical Standards and Specifications issued by the commission in 2011.
“Our objectives are to carry out quality assurances on the integrity of all aspects of the subscriber registration process and to demonstrate zero tolerance for any deviation from laid-down processes by any industry player, no matter how seemingly minor. Our expectations are very high indeed, considering the national security and socio-economic implications of the subscriber registration database. The reason we are doing this is to ensure that right from the point of first contact of the person who requires SIM registration, the details are properly taken so that once it gets to our back-end, it is easier to properly validate and send to the central database immediately.”
Stakeholders speak
Taking a swipe at the ineptitude of the commission and the apparent failure of the compulsory SIM card registration to help in checking insecurity in the land, the chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, said 95.7 million invalid SIM cards can threaten national security like kidnapping, armed robbery as well as armed banditry.
Also, the president, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said he was not surprised at the huge figure of invalid SIM cards registration because the issue of improper SIM cards registration has been lingering for too long; a development the commission had initially paid deaf ears to.
“The fact that subscribers are still subjected to give the same information about their identity each time they have need to register a new SIM card means that the same information that telecoms operators demand for in every new SIM card registration since the inception of SIM registration in the country has not been properly captured in their database,” he said.
On his part, the president, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, blamed the lapses in SIM cards registration on improper planning from the beginning of SIM cards registration in 2011.
“The minimum information for SIM card registration was not planned and stipulated correctly right from the beginning in 2011. So, you have different telecoms operators going about SIM registration in the way they thought was necessary and convenient for their systems and networks, bearing in mind that it was not to be used as a national database for the country,” he said.
According to him, at the initial stage, SIM registration was meant to recognise each subscriber on a particular network; so, the operators were involved in SIM cards registration because they were told to do so by the regulator for the purpose of identifying each subscriber on their different networks.
Police to partner telecoms operators
In the meantime, the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force and telecommunication companies have agreed to establish a nationwide surveillance system to reduce cases of kidnapping and other crimes based on a system connected to the existing Global System of Mobile telecommunication (GSM) cell sites across the country.
The acting Inspector-general of Police, Mohammed Adamu, stated this recently during a meeting with stakeholders in the telecommunications sub-sector. He said all the telecommunication companies will provide cameras that will be installed on their masts.
“The advent of the Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) in Nigeria brought about a lot of positive innovations including integrating the country into the globalised world.
“These positive trends came with attendant negatives such as increase in crimes including increase in armed robbery, transnational crimes, insurgency and kidnapping, among others. It is common knowledge that GSM communications enhances planning and coordination of these criminal activities.
“These crimes, especially kidnapping, have become prevalent all over the country and have reached an alarming and embarrassing level and, therefore, necessitating urgent and drastic interventions,” he said.
On how the police intend to assist the kidnapped to recover their phones, the police chief stated that, “The telecoms operators are mandated to provide at least 200 SIM cards per state to be used by the police body cam and vehicular system with unlimited data plan to support the project as part of their corporate social responsibilities.”
Attempts made by the reporter to get further clarification from Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, on the modalities for recovering stolen phones yielded no result as calls put through to his mobile phone were not answered. However, there are complaints that in recent times, police personnel often demand for some form of payment before they can assist victims to recover their phones. According to a source who would not want his name mentioned for obvious reasons, “My cousin’s Samsung phone was stolen at the National Stadium Abuja in February 2018. Immediately this happened, my uncle reported the matter to the police who gave the assurances that the phone would be tracked and retrieved, saying that the perpetrators would be arrested and prosecuted. However, almost six months after, the police contacted my uncle and said that the phone had been retrieved with some suspects arrested in connection with the theft. My uncle said he was not interested in their prosecution, but requested that his son’s phone be handed over to him. In a clearer term, one of the officers in-charge of the case asked him to pay N15, 000 to get back the phone because the retrieved phone was worth N57, 000 in the market. After some persuasion, my uncle agreed to pay the said amount and the phone was actually recovered.
Operation Puff Adder to the rescue?
Last week, the police authorities paraded kidnappers along with their weapons at the police command headquarter in Kaduna. According to the Force’s spokesperson, Mr Frank Mba, the exercise was the result of the special anti-kidnapping squad set up by the acting inspector-general of police. He also said as a result, several victims were also rescued, and gave the assurance that “henceforth, the Force, using the instrumentality of communication technology” would make kidnapping difficult for criminals.
Analysts are of the opinion that if the police hierarchy employs the technology offered by NCC effectively, kidnappers would have no hiding place.
The question on the lips of Nigerians now, considering what has been happening in recent times, is to what extent can the GSM technology help in checking the rising incidences of kidnapping and other crimes in the land.
