It
has come to the notice of the Nigerian Communications Commission that despite
regulations and directives against the sale and use of pre-registered SIM
cards, Operators through their Dealers/Agents are still selling pre-registered
SIM cards in several parts of the country.
We
wish to reiterate and draw attention to the following provisions:
Sections
19 and 20 of the Nigerian Communications Commission (Registration of Telephone
Subscribers) Regulations, 2011 state that:
19. (1) Any licensee who fails to capture,
register, deregister or transmit the details of any individual or corporate
subscribers to the Central Database as specified in these Regulations or as may
be stipulated from time to time by the Commission is liable to a penalty of
N200,000.00 for each subscription medium.
(2) A licensee who activates any
Subscription Medium without capturing, registering and transmitting the
personal information to the Central Database commits an offence and shall on
conviction be liable to a fine of N200,
000.00 for each unregistered activated Subscription Medium.
20. (1) Any licensee who activates or fails to
deactivate a subscription medium in violation of any provision of these
Regulations is liable to pay a penalty of N200,000.00
for each unregistered but activated subscription medium.
(2) Where the Commission is
satisfied that a body corporate is culpable, the Director, Chief Executive
Officer, Manager or Secretary shall also be liable to pay a fine of N200, 000.00 unless, having regard to the
nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the surrounding
circumstances, he proves that-
(i) the offence was committed
without his knowledge, consent or connivance; and
(ii) he took all reasonable precautions
and exercised due diligence to prevent the Commission of the breach.
Accordingly,
Operators and their appointed Dealers/Agents are hereby warned to desist
forthwith from the practice of pre-registering SIM cards and selling same in
the open market in violation of the above stated provisions. The general Public
is also notified to stop purchasing pre-registered SIM cards and insist on
being registered personally for any new SIM card purchased.
All
violators will face stiff sanctions as the NCC will enlist the assistance of
law enforcement agencies to address and curb this menace.
Tony
Ojobo
Director,
Public Affairs
Tags
Business