Insecurity: See What Nigerians Must Do To Get New Mobile SIM Card

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says Nigerians will now be required to submit a national identity number (NIN) to telecommunications companies.

In a revised statement directing network operators to suspend sales and reactivation of new SIM cards, the commission said Nigerians must obtain, and submit to their service providers, a secure digital identification from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)

Citynews Nigeria had earlier reported that the commission had halted sales and reactivation of new SIM cards by telcos pending the conclusion of an audit of the subscriber registration database.

Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC director for public affairs, who cited security concerns for the move, said the directive became imperative in light of  “preponderance of pre-registered SIMs with the attendant security implications associated with the use of same to facilitate criminal activities”.

The revised statement reads “All citizens are urged to immediately secure digital identification from the National Identity Management Commission and submit it to the network operators,”

The NIN is a form of identification introduced by the federal government and managed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

It is currently one of the requirements for getting an international passport.