Telecom
NCC to Drag SIM Registration Offenders to Court
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says that it will henceforth prosecute those involved in fraudulent registration of SIM card.
The commission said it would no longer be business as usual, threatening that anyone caught would be made liable to face 25 years imprisonment as prescribed by the law.
Mr Sunday Dare, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, NCC made this known at the South-South Regional Sensitisation Workshop on the dangers of fraudulently-activated SIM cards in Port Harcourt, Rivers.
According to a statement in Abuja, Dare was represented at the forum by Mr Efosa Idehen, NCC Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement said past efforts to educate and sanction fraudulent SIM card registraion operators had failed to yield results, hence the legal perspective.
Dare added that years of continuous fight against the fraudulent operators started in 2012.
He disclosed that “Since the SIM registration exercise started in 2011, a total of 151,449,837 registration data of subscribers have been processed, with only 55,749,652 records valid, making 63.2 per cent of the total records invalid based on invalid face capturing and fingerprints,” underscoring the importance of proper SIM registration.
According to him, if an agent engages in pre-registered SIM cards and is arrested, the culpability in such a case will extend to other players in the SIM registration value chain including the super agents.
“The Heads of Marketing of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and possibly the Chief Executives of licensees, who illegally benefit from such illegal SIM registration activities to meet their marketing targets,’’ he said.
He insisted that the right thing must be done by the registration agents and their MNOs to curb the dangers posed by the menace.
“Without appreciable compliance by the MNOs and their different layers of registration agents across the country, thereby constituting threats to national security and jeopardising national interest.
He said aside several sanctions provided in the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations 2011 for improperly-registered SIM cards, others included imposition of N1 million on person found to be dealing with subscriber information.
“The NCC will begin to plead national security and national interests against anybody found culpable of fraudulently-registered SIM cards in the telecom industry,” he said.
In his own personal remark, Idehen made a separate in-depth presentation on dangers of dealing in pre-registered SIM cards and took the participants through the various regulatory interventions already implemented.
He took the participants on other ongoing initiatives aimed at enforcing broad-range compliance with SIM registration rules in the last eight years.
“Unfortunately, despite the level of stakeholder engagements, sanctions so far imposed, arrests made and prosecutions secured through working with law enforcement agencies, among others.
“The level of compliance with the SIM registrations rules by the various players across the SIM registration value chain remains unsatisfactory,” he said.
He said this had necessitated the need for the sensitisation workshop to educate all players in the SIM registration value chain on the dangers posed by fraudulently-registered SIM cards to the country’s national security.
“It is no longer going to be business as usual for all players in the SIM registration value chain. We will no longer allow some deviants to jeopardise our national interest and national security.
“Today, cases of fraudulently-registered SIM cards have been aiding and abating robbery cases, kidnappings, financial frauds and all manners of criminalities.
“Where the anonymity of the registered subscribers makes criminal investigation difficult for the law enforcement agencies.
“That is why we will now be pleading breach of national interest in the prosecution of arrested perpetrators of pre-registered SIM cards,” he said.
He said that aside other requirements, the only four identity cards that should be accepted by SIM registration agents are the national identity cards, the voters card, driver’s licence and the international passport.
He also cautioned the agents that fingerprint capturing of the subscribers must be done properly.
“Agents must ensure that clear pictures of the subscribers are properly captured, finger prints well taken and only four ID cards are recognised for now any of which must be presented and confirmed by the registration agents before registration.
He stressed that MNOs and their agents should accept the mantra: “No valid identity card, no SIM registration.”
Idehen added that NCC had been working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in the area of ensuring that data collected from the mobile subscribers are in line with the national specifications.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that Nigeria’s internet usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in November 2025.
According to the latest data from the NCC, the figure rose modestly from 1.235 million terabytes in October, reflecting steady growth in digital activity across the country.
Broadband penetration in Nigeria crossed the halfway mark in November 2025, reaching 50.58 per cent, up from 45.61 per cent in January, the telecoms regulator reported.
The figure, however, falls short of the 70 per cent coverage target outlined in the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, which expires this month.
The country had roughly 109 million broadband subscriptions by November. Growth has been uneven, hindered by infrastructure and regulatory constraints, including frequent fibre-optic vandalism that triggers 30 to 43 network cuts daily, high right-of-way fees, and declining subscriber numbers earlier in the year.
Expansion of mobile networks, particularly 3G and 4G services, alongside limited 5G rollouts in urban centres, affordable smartphones, and competitive data plans, has driven uptake.
Investments in the National Communications Backbone and private-sector initiatives have also improved access, especially in underserved areas.
While Nigeria is gradually improving digital inclusion, achieving the original broadband plan remains challenging due to high infrastructure costs, coverage limitations, and deployment hurdles.
The NCC maintains that continued investment in mobile networks and broadband infrastructure will sustain gradual growth in the sector.
Commenting on the development, some Nigerian analysts attributed the surge to the broader mobile and broadband adoption and the growing appetite for streaming, online learning and other digital services.
According to the analysts, the figures suggest that internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for both business and leisure, underscoring the slow but steady expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has dismissed reports that bank accounts not linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN) will be frozen or automatically debited from January 1, 2026.
Taiwo Oyedele
Oyedele described the claims as false and misleading, warning Nigerians against panic over misinformation surrounding recent tax and financial reforms.
In a post on his X handle Tuesday morning, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Your bank account is safe. Misinformation makes you panic and fear a reform that is designed to help you.
“When they tell you that your account will be frozen or automatically debited from January 2026, ask them for the evidence in the new law. Be wise.”
He stressed that no provision in the new tax laws authorises the freezing of bank accounts, adding that the rumours are part of widespread misrepresentation of the reforms.
The committee chairman reiterated that the reforms are intended to simplify Nigeria’s tax system and ease the burden on ordinary citizens, not to impose punitive measures on bank customers.
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