Much Ado About SIM Identity

Professor Dora Akunyili, Information and Communications Minister.

Mixed reactions trail the decision by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to commence Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card registration on March 1, 2010
By Oji Odu
Perhaps, adding teeth to
the Federal Governments’s earlier directive of Tuesday, March 25, 2009, that every mobile phone subscriber should register his Subscriber Identification Module (SIM), latest by January 2010, the House of Representatives Committee on Communications has proceeded to enact a bill to back the directive.
The bill, “A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Registration of Mobile Telephone Lines for Security Reasons and for Matters Related thereto,” is, without doubt, aimed at complimenting the Federal Government and other security agencies desire to address the rising mobile phone-perpetrated crimes, and check the incessant harassment and threat of Nigerians by phone fraudsters.
According to the legislation which is already receiving positive hearing in the House, owning or selling a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) line in Nigeria, without registration, may attract a one month jail term. The offence also attracts a N10,000 fine for an individual and the “minimum fine of N100,000” for corporate bodies.
Section 1 of the bill states that “no person, individual or corporate body, authorised to operate or market mobile telecommunications services shall sell, grant or use a line unless the line is registered as prescribed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) from time to time.”
The Source learnt that in line with the proposed law, before a person sells or gives a phone line to another, he must ensure that “he registers the line with the particulars of the purchaser, or in the case of grant, the new owner clearly recorded. Such particulars shall include the line number, the name, occupation, official address in Nigeria, in case of an individual, and corporate office in case of corporate subscriber, of the SIM user.
According to the report, when the buyer or beneficial owner of the line is a foreigner and does not reside in Nigeria, “his particulars shall be taken from his national identity card, work permit, residential permit or national passport.”
Further, the bill states that a line is considered withdrawn if it is inactive for a period of 90 days, “except otherwise indicated by the registered owner or bearer… A person may apply for a renewal of a line not later 120days after surrendering the renewal.”
The Source also gathered that where a line is not available for renewal, the network operator shall inform the subscriber in writing, not later than 14days from the date of receipt of the renewal application.
All existing subscribers are however, expected to ensure that their lines were registered in accordance with the provisions of the Act not later than 24 months after the enactment of the bill.
However, in a rather shift in position, the NCC, recently announced that not only will SIM cards no longer be sold on the streets, but the SIM registration will begin from March 1, 2010 and end in September 2010.
In a statement by the Commission signed by the Head, Media and Public Relations, Reuben Muoka, the NCC said that it had directed all telecommunications operators to provide the necessary logistics so as to capture the details of all subscribers, both old and new. A committee comprising stakeholders, he said, had been set up to work out the modalities towards achieving this.
Mouka: “With effect from March 1, 2010, all new SIM cards in Nigeria must be registered before activation. In exercise of its regulatory functions as provided for by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, NCC wishes to inform the general public and all relevant stakeholders that arrangements have been concluded for the commencement of registration of all SIM card holders in Nigeria.”
For the registration which includes capture of the photograph and biometrics of the subscriber, the new subscriber is required to present an e-passport, corporate/company or work place identity card that have pension identification/tax numbers, student identity card from recognised institutions, drivers license issued by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) or e-tax cards before any new SIM card could be issued.
Muoka stated that necessary logistics are being put on ground to ensure that existing SIM card holders have a smooth procedure in registering their SIM’s before the deadline when non-registered SIM cards will be shut out.
Explaining the reasons for the exercise, Muoka said: “The SIM card registration is in line with complaints that the commission had gotten that mobile phones are used to aid crimes, and government instructed the commission to adopt a mode to help stop the crime.
“Nigeria does not have an effective database and that is why we think six months is enough to cover the six geo-political zones in the country and even get to the local government areas,”he said.
Meanwhile, the SIM registration exercise is already raising dust all over the country, with mixed reactions from different quarters.
Speaking to The Source on the development, President, Association of Licensed Telecom Dealers of Nigeria (ALTDON), Dr. Bayo Ojo said: “It is a welcome development, although the authorities woke up rather too late when the thief had made away with the stolen goods. The government is to blame for all the rot and criminality because how can you licence someone to do a job and from behind allow illegal dealers to thrive?
“I can say that the directive will benefit our members who have been robbed by many illegalities. But my fears are in the implementation of the directive- Have we the structure to detect the false documents, et cetera? And will the government really implement the penalties, no matter who is involved?”, he querried.
In the same vein, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, National Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS), expressed joy over the directive but urged the NCC to sensitise subscribers concerning the new scheme. “It is a welcome development. It is something we have been clamouring for and happy the NCC finally approved it,” Ogunbanjo said.
However, expressing fears that the scheme would be used to fleece subscribers further, the Consumer Advocacy Forum of Nigeria (CAFON), said it would amount to cheating if subscribers are made to pay for the exercise. The group through its president, Sola Salako, said it would resist any attempt by operators to charge subscribers for any such registration.
A part-time student of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), who runs a call centre within the Ketu axis of the state, Tony Ameh, lamented to The Source on the likely effects of the new directive thus: “It is true that some people use their phone for criminal purposes, but is it our fault? For some of us, this is what we depend on to feed our families and go to school. What happens now if we are shut out because we cannot be allowed membership of ALTDON because of the huge money involved. They (government) should look at this again because many will go to jail-o.”
But Emmanuel Ekuwem, president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), while supporting the proposed registration, maintained that in addition to stopping the hawking of SIM cards on the streets, the scheme, he said, will create different kinds of jobs involving data warehousing, data mining and storage area networks.
Ekuwem: stated: “The accreditation of SIM cards will greatly aid criminal investigation. Photographic identification of SIM card buyers helps control crime. It is no longer news that travellers abroad are asked for identification papers when buying SIM packs.”
Reacting to the new regime, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Frank Mba told The Source that it is a worthwhile development long expected. It shows, according to him, improvement brought about by the nation’s democratic dispensation.
Mba said: “It is a good thing that has happened to this country, an improvement in the democratic dispensation. The registration will help to fight phone crimes, and those saying it will make the security agencies encroach on their privacy, must have skeletons in their cupboards.
"The Knowledge that one’s particulars are with the operators and security agencies will automatically reduce the rate of criminality and crime.
“Apart from foreign developed countries where this operates, Botswana, an African country with a population of about a State in Nigeria has its SIM cards registered. The exercise in Nigeria is good for the country’s image,” Mba said.
Telecommunications operators, however, have continued to kick against the directive, claiming that it will reduce the revenue which they derive from sale of SIM cards.
Corporate Services Executive of MTN Nigeria, Akinwale Goodluck, said recently that the registration and ban on the sale of SIMs on the streets will slow down network expansion, in terms of increase in subscriber base of most operators. He added, however, that proper management by the NCC will cushion the effects on both subscribers and operators alike.