Mobile network operator MTN Nigeria has partnered with Nigeria’s communications regulator, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), to hold in the illegal sale of pre-registered SIM Cards.
The two companies have pledged to work together saying they would come up with “tougher penalties” for the lawbreakers.
MTN Nigeria’s corporate service executive Akinwale Goodluck said the business is illegal and the company would work with NCC to make sure it is purged.
Goodluck further emphasized that MTN will follow the NCC’s law on SIM card registration as well as monitor “all the processes to curb the vice.”
Those arrested would be punished. The police will be involved in the process to ensure culprits are arrested and arraigned in court, he said.
For mobile users to acquire a SIM card, they have to register the cards using their identity card. The process is however “heavily” flouted, according to reports.
SIM card user’s name, picture, fingerprints, date of birth, gender and cellphone number will enable the cellular network provider to identify their customer’s needs and to track the culprits.
Cases of SIM card fraud have been on the rise in the country. Late last month, 14 people were arrested in Nigeria after NCC intensified its operations to curb the vice.
In 2010, the Kenyan government embarked on the SIM card registration process to track cellphone Crimes. Countries such as Tanzania and South Africa have since embraced similar measures.
MTN Nigeria is a telecommunications company headquartered in South Africa. It was founded in 1994 and has operations in Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Rwanda, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia.
