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Tag: SIM

  • Those yet to obtain NIN risk up to 14 years imprisonment – FG

    Those yet to obtain NIN risk up to 14 years imprisonment – FG

    The federal government has warned that those who are yet to obtain their National Identification Number (NIN) risk seven or 14 years imprisonment as stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami made this known at the weekly Presidential Media briefing organized by the Presidential Communication Media Team in Abuja on Thursday.

    He said so far 51 million citizens have enrolled for the NIN as at March 31, 2021 and that about 189 million subscribers of the Identification Module (SIM) had been registered in the country.

    According to the minister, only 150 million out of the 189 million have successfully completed their registration while the remaining have problems of improper registration.

    Pantami reminded all citizens to enroll for the NIN, warning that those yet to obtain the NIN risk seven or 14 years imprisonment as stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution.

    “Based on the requirement by law each and every citizen and legal resident must obtain his/her National Identification Number (NIN), which is being coordinated by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

    “It’s a requirement by law but many citizens ignore it.

    “What we achieved in the area of enrolment from the time Mr President has directed me to supervise NIMC till date is unprecedented and we would continue to ensure that in the next few years we have an almost a complete database of all our citizens in the country.

    “No country will be successful in education, health, budget planning or national planning without database of its citizens in place.

    “What I inherited in the database was less than 20 percent of our population. But we want to ensure that before we leave office we would look at the database and be proud of our country,’’ he said.

    According to him, while obtaining a SIM card maybe optional, NIN is mandatory, noting that a lot of transactions in the country are not supposed to be carried out without NIN.

  • We’ve so far registered 51m for NIN, 189m SIM cards – Minister

    We’ve so far registered 51m for NIN, 189m SIM cards – Minister

    The Federal Government says it has so far enrolled 51 million citizens for the National Identification Number (NIN) as at March 31, 2021.

    Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, made this known at the weekly Presidential Media briefing organized by the Presidential Communication Media Team in Abuja on Thursday.

    He also revealed that about 189 million subscribers of the Identification Module (SIM) had been registered in the country.

    According to the minister, only 150 million out of the 189million have successfully completed their registration while the remaining have problems of improper registration.

    Pantami reminded all citizens to enroll for the NIN, warning that those yet to obtain the NIN risk seven or 14 years imprisonment as stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution.

    “Based on the requirement by law each and every citizen and legal resident must obtain his/her National Identification Number (NIN), which is being coordinated by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). It’s a requirement by law but many citizens ignore it.

    “What we achieved in the area of enrolment from the time Mr President has directed me to supervise NIMC till date is unprecedented and we would continue to ensure that in the next few years we have an almost a complete data base of all our citizens in the country.

    “No country will be successful in education, health, budget planning or national planning without data base of its citizens in place.

    “What I inherited in the data base was less than 20 per cent of our population. But we want to ensure that before we leave office we would look at the data base and be proud of our country,’’ he said.

    According to him, while obtaining a SIM card maybe optional, NIN is mandatory, noting that a lot of transactions in the country are not supposed to be carried out without NIN.

  • BREAKING: National SIM blocking day postponed

    BREAKING: National SIM blocking day postponed

    The federal government has postponed the deadline pegged to block the SIM cards of Nigerians and legal residents who are yet to link their National Identification Number (NIN).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) made this known in a public notice published on Tuesday via the Commission’s official Twitter handle.

    Recall that the FG had on December 15, 2020 declared that all SIMs that were not registered with valid NIN on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked after December 30, 2020.

    However, following public outcry against the short notice, it later extended the deadline, giving 3 weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021, and a 6-week extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021.

    “All Nigerians and legal residents are advised to enroll for their National Identification Number (NIN) and link them before February 9th, 2021,” the notice by NIMC reads.

    By the notice, it means the federal government will not block SIM cards of subscribers with NIN until February 9th, along with subscribers without NIN.

    Meanwhile, the FG had expressed appreciation to Nigerians and residents over the NIN-SIM linkage exercise.

    At the end of a review meeting on 18th January 2021, the Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force reported significant progress in the ongoing exercise.

    So far, a total of 47.8 million NINs have been collected by the mobile operators. At an average of three to four SIMs per subscriber, this means many millions will be linked up before the deadline in February 2021.

    Reacting to the report, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, expressed satisfaction with this commendable achievement.

    He expressed the Federal Government’s appreciation for the commitment demonstrated by all stakeholders and citizens and urged them to submit their NINs before 9th February, 2021 deadline.

    The Minister urged the technical team to fast-track the processes so that the project is delivered soonest.

    The Technical Committee drew attention to the App developed by Federal Government which allows subscribers to link up to a maximum of seven (7) SIMs to their NIN.

    The Minister concluded by reminding Nigerians to secure and protect their NINs, urging subscribers to desist from selling their NINs or allowing others to use their NINs for registration.

    “For any action committed with the SIM, good or bad, it will be officially traced and attached to the NIN owner,” the Minister warned.

  • For SIM/NIN Registration, A Little Appeal, By Okoh Aihe

    For SIM/NIN Registration, A Little Appeal, By Okoh Aihe

    By Okoh Aihe

    Nothing could have made it more expedient than the lives that would be involved. And there are so many. Looking at the images on television now, looking at pictures in the newspapers, of thousands of people swirling in desperation to do a comprehensive registration of their phones by syncing the numbers with NIN, troubling questions pour in.

    What amount of stakeholder engagement was done? Apart from discussions with telecommunications operators and other interloping agencies, was there ever a stakeholder mapping to paint a picture of what would happen when the actual programme begins? There used to be something called environmental impact analysis, did it ever enjoy any consideration on this matter? Did anybody ever think that COVID-19 was going to be waved away with a magic wand for Nigeria to carry out an indeterminate project?

    Questions and more questions. Lots of materials, including editorials, have been written on this matter. Some writers are outraged while a few others are cautionary and conciliatory. But whatever your position, what we have before us, fueled by human desperation and a government importunate policy, is a tragic monstrosity whose scope may be difficult to sketch.

    Since the announcement was made mid-December last year for operators to require all their subscribers to provide valid National Identification Number (NIN) to update SIM registration records, chaos has been the supervening picture of the telecommunications industry, even forcing government to begin to repel the fire it has ignited with gasoline. As a friend would explain to me, most Nigerians who are already down to nothing, not wanting to lose their only prized asset, have tossed caution and fear in the air, and have been waking up at NIMC centres across the country. Wherever you turn, the story is the same: grim, chaotic and very foreboding.

    Perhaps also troubled by these pictures, government has been acting on-the-go, changing some decisions midway; and of course deracinating its two-week window it has given as ultimatum, while giving an extension to a time in January and February, depending upon the window that is most commodious. This has done very little to assuage the feeling or the pain.

    But who woke up one day in a season of pandemic with the nightmare that what is best for us is the fusion of phone and NIN for subscribers to live in peace ever after? Mercifully, the operators have been on maximum overdrive, giving out short codes to the subscribers who would want to start the process online. For the time being industry figures stand above 207m subscribers; experts have argued that such figure couldn’t be processed and treated within two weeks without creating absolute chaos.

    Meanwhile the second wave of COVID-19 is here as in most parts of the world. A new strain of the virus has been detected in some countries, leading to worries whether that strain is already in Nigeria. Deaths from COVID-19 are increasing in the country and so is the case load. For me, what seems to conceal the ruinous harvest are the deaths from several other sources – banditry, kidnapping, Boko Haram, ritual killings, cultism and even road accidents, especially from bad roads all over the country. Wherever you go in Nigeria, death stalks you. Only those in government believe things are normal, very normal according to their gospel.

    At a briefing on Monday, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) raised the alarm that Nigeria have crossed the grim number of 100, 000 mark of confirmed cases while also observing that the number could be more as the tests are coming from some states, adding there is no state in the country without COVID-19. Last week alone over 9,000 cases were recorded, meaning that Nigeria is recording over a 1,000 daily.

    The spike was blamed on increased travel, business activities, including social-related ones, nightlife, religious programmes and reopening of schools without strict compliance with protocols.

    The foregoing observation is true but not the whole truth. It is disingenuous, if not totally dishonest, to exclude the intimidating introduction and intrusion of the SIM/NIN registration which, across the states of the federation, daily assails us with images of phone users nearly crushing each other to salvage the use of their phones from a government which has little to offer but wind and promises.

    Make no mistake we need to have the statistics of our people and their activities. One reason behind this is that it can help resolve a lot of security issues. This is why the exercise enjoys the cooperation of critical stakeholders, especially the operators. But the fact that the ominous effects of such policy in these troubled times could be overlooked fuels the conspiracy theory that some people are whispering about, to effect that there is more to the registration than what we see, and the forcefulness and intensity in execution is not only a pointer to such remote possibility, but actually quite superfluous, very bewildering and perplexing.

    All said, this is a time to put a hold on our pomposity and braggadocio in forcing down policies that are obnoxious and detrimental to the people. The stories coming out of the isolation and treatment centres are very unnerving. People are in pains. But those are the lucking ones. Others have died and are dying. We know those with names – those in business, academia and government, among others. But you also have those without a name – the Anonymous, for whom there will be no grave stone or well-minted epitaph. Their death enjoys no whisper. They don’t go with the wind. They are simply driven into the dark of the night. And that is eternal!

    There are indications now that school resumption date earlier fixed for January 18, 2021, will be moved again because of rising COVID-19 cases. No. Please. We need our education sector to formally open. The schools should be mandated to put all protocol practices in place to provide a safe environment for learning. My appeal is for government to suspend the SIM/NIN registration and then use the intervening period to plan for the exercise.

    A major purpose for telecommunications is to help save life and ease pain for humanity. Let it never be said that ours served the ignoble contribution of taking lives because of a government policy that has no dated significance.

     

    For Nuhu Hamman’Gabdo

    The self-effacing guy with an undiminishing smile on his face. Friendly but very self-assured. Diligent in his ways and clinical in executing assigned tasks. The end came very suddenly, with most of your loved ones, leaving us in total wrench and distraught. The end comes for everyone, someday. But yours is a blow without provision for healing. May your journey in the other side provide eternal healing to your souls, and may your memory be a blessing to your families, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

     

  • Simi reacts to NCC’s directive on SIM without NIN

    Simi reacts to NCC’s directive on SIM without NIN

    Singer, Simi has shared her opinion about the deadline issued by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) for all SIM cards to be registered with the National Identity Number (NIN).

    TheNewsGuru recalls that on Tuesday, the NCC had in a statement given all telecommunications companies in Nigeria a 14-days timeline to block SIM cards not registered with the NIN.

    “The submission of NIN by subscribers to take place within two weeks (from today December 16, 2020 and end by 30 December, 2020). After the deadline, all SIMs without NINs are to be blocked from the networks,” the statement read.

    Amid the condemnation that trailed the new development, the ‘Duduke’ crooner took to her Twitter page on Wednesday to register her frustration on the actions of the Nigerian government towards its people.

    “Lol I want out. Honestly, if they want to block it, they should block it. Cos I’m tired and maybe the 15 ppl that are able to register in 2 weeks can be calling themself,” she wrote.

    Since the statement was issued, Nigerians on social media have continued to express their displeasure.

  • Just in: NCC orders suspension of new SIM sale, registration

    Just in: NCC orders suspension of new SIM sale, registration

    The Nigerian Communications Commission has directed Mobile Network Operators to immediately suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards to allow an audit of the Subscriber Registration Database.

    The Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, in a statement on Wednesday, said it was absolutely necessary for operators to comply until the audit exercise had been concluded.

    According to him, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, directed the commission to embark on an audit of the Subscriber Registration Database.

    He, however, said an exemption might be granted following approval from the Federal Government through the commission.

    He warned that non-compliance with the directive would be met with strict sanctions, including the possibility of withdrawal of operating license.

    Adinde said the audit would help to consolidate the achievement of the SIM Card registration exercise.

    The director explained that the objective of the audit exercise was to ensure compliance to set quality standards and requirements by mobile network operators.

    According to him, the directive became necessary in view of the preponderance of pre-registered SIMs with the attendant security implications associated with the use of same to facilitate criminal activities.

  • Minister urges NCC board to link SIM cards, national ID cards, BVN

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, has called on the newly inaugurated Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to link up simcard registration to national Identification Card (ID Card) and Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    Pantami, who made the call at the inauguration, which held at the ministry’s headquarters on Thursday, in Abuja, said that it was an important step to take as it was part of the policy of the present administration.

    “Try to see how our sim registration will be linked up to our national identification card.

    “It is also very important so that our BVN will all be linked up with our digital ID,” he said.

    According to him, the policy is with regard to our achievement on handling 9.4 million sim cards, some are partially registered, some not completely registered.

    “After that, President Muhammadu Buhari directed me to share that information with security agencies and also ask for their opinion on how to consolidate that achievement.

    “As part of what they have sent to us, some responded that there are issues that we must address.

    “One of them is total number of registered sim cards that each Nigerian should be allowed to have without difficulty.”

    He further suggested that every individual should possibly have three sim cards as regards the policy sent to the NCC as part of regulation to the board.

    The minister adviced that when individuals would need additional sim cards from the agreed number, they should provide justification in order to acquire more than the agreed number.

    “In the document policy we have sent, we say possibly three, as part of regulation the board; we said possibly, possibly is not final.

    “So it is flexible. This is based on what the Minister of Defence has sent to us,” he said.

    Pantami urged the board members to work hard and not to take their work lightly.

    In his remarks, The Board Chairman, Prof. Adeolu Akande, expressed happiness and gratitude for the opportunity and support to be of service to the commission.

    Akande, who spoke on behalf of the newly-inaugurated board, promised on behalf of the board and management of NCC to meet up and exceed the minister’s expectations.

    He thanked the minister for standing by them during their screening in the National Assembly.

    The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) NCC, Prof Umaru Danbatta thanked the minister for giving a full compliment to NCC’s governing board.

    Danbatta wished the newly inaugurated board success in the discharge of their duties.

  • Why SIM card replacement process is stringent

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has made the process of replacing lost, stolen or damaged Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards more stringent in order to protect telecommunications consumers.

    NCC Director, Zonal Operations, Mrs Amina Shehu, said this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

    She said before replacing a SIM card consumers are required to identify themselves properly by through court affidavit, national identification card (or other valid IDs), SIM pack, among other requirements.

    She said the process was reviewed and made more stringent, to ensure that telecom subscribers are well protected from being victims of SIM swap fraud.

    Shehu said the commission has found that, at times, a subscriber might be having issues with his or her phone number, thinking that it is a network issue.

    She added that by the time the subscriber discovered what is happening, money would have been fraudulently taken out of his or her bank account.

    According to her, SIM swap or replacement has a lot of issues attached to it because, often times, a lot of people who are not the owners of some numbers do SIM swap at various customer centres of the service providers.

    ”There have been cases of fraudulent activities done on people’s bank accounts, as a result of SIM swap and the victims often complain to the commission, expecting that NCC will compensate them.

    ”To stop this SIM swap fraud, the commission in 2017 developed guidelines on SIM replacement, which sets water-tight rules for telecoms consumers to replace their SIM card when there is a need for it,” she said.

    She said that consumers are frowning at being asked to bring court affidavit, national identification card (or other valid IDs), SIM pack, among other requirements.

    Shehu said that the regulatory body has noted that there is likelihood by subscribers to think that network providers are putting them through stress to have their SIM replaced.

    ”But what telecoms consumers should know is that they must appreciate the fact that information being required from them is to establish that anybody coming for SIM swap proves that the number requested to be swapped belongs to him/her.

    ”Consumers should immediately report to their respective banks to block their accounts, once they lose SIMs linked with their bank accounts,” she said.

    The director said the commission has other initiatives aimed at protecting the consumers, which include the activation of the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 Short Code to curb unsolicited text messages.

    She said with NCC’s toll-free line 622, consumers can report complains pertaining to unresolved issues with service providers to the commission.

    Shehu said with 622, subscribers can report quality of service, billing issues, mobile number portability (MNP) as well as issues revolving around data descriptions and renewals.

    She urged telecommunications consumers to be ambassadors of the commission by assisting to pass the information to people to be aware of such consumer-centric initiatives.

  • How to retrieve a lost SIM card without qualms

    Whether you are a postpaid or a prepaid subscriber, losing a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is worrisome.

    Not to worry, there is a standard procedure to follow to retrieve a lost SIM without qualms.

    The prescribed procedure for a subscriber to follow to effect a SIM replacement is necessary to prevent unauthorized replacements of SIM cards.

    A SIM can be replaced if it is faulty, damaged, stolen, lost, obsolete (but eligible for replacement or an upgrade), and any other reasonable legitimate reason or condition necessitating a SIM replacement.

    An operator may refuse a SIM replacement request where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the replacement ought not to be carried out.

    The SIM to be retrieved must have been registered in accordance with the registration of telephone subscribers regulations issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the SIM must be active on the network of the operator.

    An active SIM card is a SIM that can make and receive calls. An inactive SIM is one that cannot make or receive calls or one that has been recycled. A SIM becomes inactive after 6 months of inactivity. After 3 months or inactivity (i.e. no recharge, no calls on the SIM), the SIM enters inactive mode, and recycled after another 3 months.

    A subscriber requesting for the replacement of a SIM must provide the following:

    a. Information about the three (3) most frequently called numbers from that SIM which must be verified by the Network Service Provider. The frequently called numbers must have been dialed at least five times over a 30 days period.

    b. Where the SIM to be replaced is a data SIM, the subscriber will be required to provide any two of the following:

    i. Last recharge amount and date

    ii. Name of internet bundle value activated and data allowance allocated

    iii. Last three (3) sites visited.

    c. An affidavit signed by the subscriber and a passport photograph of the subscriber where the replacement is to be done by a proxy.

    d. Details of the last recharge on the SIM.

    e. Details of the last paid invoice for post-paid subscribers.

    A person requesting a replacement is expected to fill a standard SIM replacement form, and a valid photo identification of the subscriber must be provided.

    The SIM pack or other evidence of direct purchase/ownership of the SIM must be provided and where it is unavailable, an affidavit attesting to the ownership and loss of the SIM must be provided.

    The Network Service Provider is expected to capture a facial image of the subscriber.

    SIM replacement by proxy

    Also, a SIM replacement may be carried out by proxy. Any SIM replacement carried out by proxy must be in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 6 above.

    Where a replacement is done by a proxy, such proxy will be required to provide an affidavit sworn to by the owner of the SIM detailing reasons for the replacement, as well as the reasons for the subscriber’s inability to carry out the replacement, a copy of the subscriber’s means of identification and a valid photo identification of the proxy.

    A request for a SIM replacement may be made by a proxy for Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) registered in the name of a corporate entity, where such proxy has been duly designated as the entity’s interface with the operator on record, and produces a sworn affidavit by the entity duly authorizing the replacement.

    The proxy is also expected to fill the SIM replacement form, and the Network Service Provider is expected to capture a facial image of the proxy.

    Online SIM Replacement

    Online SIM Replacement can only be carried out either through the Network Service Provider’s secured website or self-service terminal.

    The Network Service Provider shall create on its secured website a platform where Subscribers can carry out SIM Replacement using the unique Identification and PIN issued by the Network Service Provider.

    The Network Service Provider shall issue interested Subscribers with a unique Identification and PIN.

    The Subscriber is required to purchase a new SIM Card to which the MSISDN of the old SIM Card would be transferred.

    The Subscriber can login to the portal through the Network Service Provider’s secured website using the unique Identification and Personal Information Number (PIN) issued to the Subscriber.

    The Subscriber will input the following information;

    a. Date of Birth

    b. Mother’s Maiden Name

    c. Place of Birth

    d. Three frequently called numbers

    e. The MSISDN of the SIM to be replaced.

    Where the information provided matches the record on the Network Service Provider’s system, the Subscriber will be prompted to enter the MSISDN of the new SIM purchased and the operator would then the carry out the SIM replacement by transferring the old MSISDN to the new SIM.

    No Network Service Provider is allowed to carry out SIM Replacement over the phone.

    Activation

    A replacement SIM shall be activated within two (2) hours once the verification of Subscriber information has being carried out.

    Violations and Penalties

    Any SIM Replacement done in violation of NCC guidelines shall be sanctioned in accordance with enforcement regulations.

    A Network Service Provider shall be held liable for any SIM Replacement carried out in violation of regulations or done fraudulently by its agent or dealer.

    The subscriber can pursue any other remedies against a Network Service Provider for any SIM Replacement done fraudulently by such Network Service Provider or its agent or dealer.

     

  • Irregular SIM registration: MTN pays N110bn fine to FG

    Irregular SIM registration: MTN pays N110bn fine to FG

    The Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta on Thursday confirmed that telecommunications giant; MTN Nigeria has paid a total of N110bn into the coffers of the government out of the N330bn imposed on it.

    Danbatta disclosed this at a workshop on Code of Corporate Governance organised by the commission in Kano on Thursday.

    He also disclosed that the commission was rejigging its regulatory activities to ensure that telecommunications’ consumers get value for their money.

    Recall that NCC had in October 2015 imposed a fine of N1.04tn on MTN for irregular registration of subscribers. However, after prolonged negotiation with both the regulatory agency and the Federal Government, the company had the fine reduced to N330bn.

    Danbatta said the matter had been resolved with an agreement for settlement over a three-year period signed between the agency and MTN.

    He said the payment was spread over a three-year period because the intention was not to snuff life out of MTN.

    The NCC boss said, “Current evaluation report of the state of the industry suggests that whilst not understating the impact of other external and fiscal issues confronting the sector, that most challenges negatively affecting the health of operators in the sector today are attributable to poor governance issues.

    “It is currently rejigging its regulatory oversights in the areas of ensuring that consumers get cost effective value for money spent on telecommunication services; and that service delivery by providers are qualitative and efficient.