As the registration of new Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards resumes in the country, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have arrested five suspects indulged in pre registering and sale of SIM cards in Wuse, Abuja.
The Commission stated that the enforcement activities will continue in other locations across FCT and other states of the country to sanitise the industry of criminal elements.
NCC head of enforcement, Salisu Abdu who led the joint enforcement exercise, said the exercise was part of the routine activities embarked upon by the Commission to rid the industry of criminal elements engaging in fraudulent registration of SIM cards.
He said pre-registering a SIM card is an offence punishable under relevant regulations in the telecom sector and constitutes a breach of national security.
“The hitch-free operation was carried out by a joint team from the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Department of the Commission, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in the Wuse area of Abuja.
The arrested suspects were subsequently handed over to the NSCDC Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Wuse, Abuja, for further investigation with respect to the allegations levelled against them.
“It is criminal and fraudulent to pre-register a SIM card in Nigeria and it is an offence punishable under the law. Though the federal government recently lifted the ban on sale of new SIM cards, it should be noted that proper registration of SIM cards and linking them to National Identity Number (NIN) before activation has now become a prerequisite,” he said.
