… may withdraw licences of operators for non-compliance
BY BANYO TEMITAYO
THE Nigerian Communications Commission has asked Mobile Network Operators to suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards immediately.
The NCC said this was to allow an audit of the Subscriber Registration Database, warning that non-compliance with the directive would be met with strict sanctions, including the withdrawal of operating licence.
Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Ikechukwu Adinde, disclosed these in a statement on Wednesday, saying the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, had directed the Commission to embark on an audit of the Subscriber Registration Database.
Adinde said it was absolutely necessary for operators to comply with the halt in sale and activation of new SIM cards until the audit exercise had been concluded.
According to him, an exemption may, however, be granted if approval is given by the Federal Government through the Commission.
The objective of the audit exercise, Adinde stressed, was to ensure compliance to set quality standards and requirements by mobile network operators.
The directive became necessary in view of the preponderance of pre-registered SIMs with the attendant security implications associated with the use of these SIMs to facilitate criminal activities, he said.
