Nigerian House Of Representatives Warns Telecom Providers Against Reselling Inactive SIM Cards

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The House of Representatives has issued a stern warning to major telecom network providers like MTN, GLO, and Airtel, cautioning them against the practice of reselling already purchased Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to new subscribers after months of inactivity.

During the plenary session, the House considered a motion presented by Boniface Sunday Emerengwa, and subsequently mandated its Committee on Telecommunications (once constituted) to engage with Global System for Communication (GSM) providers on this issue….CONTINUE READING

Emerengwa highlighted that GSM came to Nigeria in 2001 with Econet (now Airtel) and MTN as the pioneer providers, and since then, GSM has greatly improved the business environment and accessibility to various services such as Mobile Banking Services.

However, he raised concerns about the reselling of SIM cards that have been inactive for six months, which may expose customers to financial risks, especially with the existence of cyber fraud activities like ‘Yahoo boys.’

The SIM registration process, which began in April 2010 under the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), involves the submission of personal information and biometric scans to the service providers.

Despite this registration, when a fresh subscriber registers a previously inactive SIM, details of the earlier subscriber can still be accessed through apps like True Caller, leading to potential complications with bank alerts and private information.

The House has given the committee a two-week timeframe to conduct the necessary investigation and submit a report, after which further legislative actions may be taken.