NCC to shut 88 illegal SIM registration centres

Eighty eight illegal SIM registration spots uncovered across the country by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) will soon be shut down, the commission has said.

This is in a bid to stop the menace of improperly registered, unregistered and preregistered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, said the commission.

The Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, (EC, SM) of NCC, Mr. Sunday Dare, who made this known in Abuja, said arrangements were being made to carry out raids on the identified locations.

“Eighty-eight locations have been identified nationwide as hubs for dealing in preregistration of SIM cards and other forms of dirty registration,” he said.

While vowing he would leave no stone unturned to put an end to the selling of preregistered SIM cards in the country, Mr. Dare said that the commission’s collaboration with the police to end the dangerous practice recently resulted in the raid of Central Market, Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, and the arrest of three persons.

The commissioner said the fight against preregistration of SIM cards had also received another boost as a meeting held on September 3, 2018, between the commission, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) continued to yield results.

According to him, MTN Nigeria recently delisted 179 agents who were engaged in preregistration of SIM cards, saying the move was part of the resolution reached at the September meeting and called on other operators to follow the same path.

“In compliance with the resolutions reached at the meeting between the commission, MNOs and NSCDC held on September 3, 2018, the commission is in receipt of an Intelligence Report/ Rapid Letter from MTN dated November 2, 2018.

“MTN reported that 179 registration agents were delisted nationwide for their involvement in preregistration of SIM cards and dirty registration. In addition to this, devices were retrieved and registration carried out by such agents were deactivated,” Mr. Dare said.