Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, has said that there are no improperly registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) on any of the networks operating in the country.
This was disclosed on Thursday in a statement by the Minister’s Technical Assistant on Information Technology, Dr Femi Adeluyi. The statement read in part: “The attention of the Honourable Minister of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has been drawn to some newspaper articles which claimed that the Senate summoned him concerning the role of communication devices in national security.
“Pantami awaits the official invitation and would like to sincerely thank the senators for their concern and support towards improving national security. The minister has supported security agencies in their statutory duty of protecting lives and property and this is why his first action after his appointment was to issue a directive that no improperly registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) be allowed to remain on our networks.
“Based on the report submitted by the regulator (Nigerian Communications Commission) on the of September 26, 2019, there is currently no improperly registered SIM on our networks. In the event of evidence to the contrary, the minister will sanction any individual or institution found wanting.
“Furthermore, Pantami wrote to all security agencies on October 14, 2019, asking them to collaborate with the ministry by contacting us whenever a crime has been aided and abetted through the use of telecommunication devices. No request by security agencies for assistance in the identification of owners of SIMs used for crime has gone untreated.