Telecom
NCC Looks Elsewhere as Sale of Preregistered Sim Cards Booms
The over N6.1 billion poured into the ongoing Sim card registration is going down the drains with fresh evidences suggesting ready availability of preregistered Sim cards at every nooks and corners of the country Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations have found.
Preregistered Sim cards are those in which the biometric identity of a different person is used to register the number of Sim cards, and then sold to different people such that identity of the user is not same with the one who registered the Sim.
The implication is that armed robbers; kidnappers and other criminals can buy these cards and hide under the anonymity they provide to perpetuate heinous crimes.
Checks around the country revealed that the trade is booming with a preregistered Sim card selling for as much as N1, 500. A fresh Sim card from any GSM operator cost just N200.
Even with the best efforts of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the trade is assuming the nature of organized crime with a chain that extends as far as the major dealers who purchase Sim cards in bulk to the hawkers on the streets and to gang kingpins.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the federal government had embarked on the Sim card registration because of the increasing wave of crimes assisted by telecommunications as criminals hide under the anonymity of telephone access to commit crimes such as kidnapping and robbery.
The rationale is that if the owner of each SIM card in the country is known, it would be easy to trace any crime committed with the aid of a phone to a person.
Further checks showed that some unsuspecting poor Nigerians were being used to register such Sim cards in large quantities.
The government voted a questionable N6.1 billion for the registration even when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) undertook similar registration of all bank account holders in Nigeria without any special budget.
But there are series of scandals surrounding the handling of the money meant for the exercise which the NCC is fighting to absolve itself of any wrongdoing.
Critics said that whatever the benefit of preregistration is, that the government lack capacity to take advantage of it or to protect the citizens.
They said that the Sim registration process is too disorganized to make any meaningful impact and blamed the government for not doing enough to educate Nigerians on the dangers of preregistered Sim cards.
Bola Olubodun, a security expert , said, that process have been compromised because vital information of some Nigerian subscribers are now available to fraudsters and crooks of all kinds.
Tony Ojobo, director, Public Affairs at NCC, however, told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that the process is achieving its objectives.
He said that the constitutional way of fighting illegality is through the use of law enforcement agencies which the commission has been using.
According to him, some vendors of preregistered Sim cards have been arrested and enjoined Nigerians to report to the Nigerian Police any vendor of preregistered Sim card.
Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMs) however urged Nigerians to trust the system.
“ The law states that you have to register your Sim card, anybody going outside that is going contrary to the dictates of the law and should be made to face the wrath of the law” he added.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recalled that the Sim card registration exercise begun in February 2011 when the Nigerian Communications Commission signed contract with seven registration service providers to handle the registration process in different parts of the country along with telecommunications operators.
The contractors included SW Global for the South-East region — Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, and Imo; PNN for the North-Central region — Abuja, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Nassarawa; Chams for Lagos; and JKK for the South-West region – Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Ondo.
Others were DATAGROUPIT for the North-East region — Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba; EAGLE/CBC for the North West region — Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa; and E-Kenneth/SageMetrics for the South-South — Cross River, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa.
Since March 28, 2011 that the Sim card registration actually began, many issues had been thrown up.
But desperate to justify the process, Ojobo, who was a guest at a television programme in Lagos, said that the verification process had commenced and would be preceded by number portability, which is designed to empower GSM subscribers to switch to a different network provider while still maintaining the same phone number.
He said that the Sim registration exercise is taking time to close because “After the digital collection of the database, the process of harmonising and cleansing was begun. The numbers of SIM card that were initially collected was 100 million, at a time when the active subscription was about 97million.
“Because of this volume, caused by multiple cases of double registration, the operators found the process of collation tough, and it took a long while for them to upload the information to NCC backings. When this was done, we also discovered mismatching, and the process continued” he added.
Telecommunications operators have called on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to establish a clear regulatory framework for airtime and data credit services, warning that millions of Nigerians could face fresh disruptions if the agencies fail to coordinate their responsibilities.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
This is coming on the heels of the Federal High Court judgment affirming the FCCPC’s authority to regulate consumer protection in the airtime and data credit market while preserving the NCC’s exclusive mandate over telecommunications licensing and technical regulation.
The ruling effectively clarified that both regulators have complementary roles rather than overlapping powers.
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the judgment should serve as the basis for stronger collaboration between the two regulators to avoid the regulatory uncertainty that earlier forced operators to suspend airtime and data credit services.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON, said the industry was not disputing the authority of either regulator but was seeking a clearly defined operational framework before any further regulatory actions are taken.
“The court has done something important. It has confirmed the FCCPC’s authority and, in the same breath, affirmed that the NCC’s role is preserved. Concurrency means coexistence. The industry now expects both regulators to establish the coordination framework that the court’s reasoning requires,” Adebayo said.
He stressed that regulatory certainty had become critical because millions of Nigerians depend on airtime and data credit services for daily communication.
“Forty million Nigerians depend on these services. The court has made clear that both regulators have a role. The industry is asking them to define how that works before any action that could disrupt access again,” he stated.
Adebayo also urged both agencies to engage industry stakeholders before introducing measures capable of affecting consumer access to the services.
According to him, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) directive requiring Regulatory Impact Assessments before major policy changes should be observed to minimise unintended consequences on businesses and consumers.
The renewed call comes months after major mobile network operators temporarily suspended airtime and data borrowing services following the implementation of the FCCPC’s Digital, Electronic, Online and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations, a development that affected millions of subscribers nationwide.
In its judgment, the Federal High Court held that while the FCCPC has powers over competition and consumer protection issues in the digital lending ecosystem, it cannot assume the NCC’s statutory responsibility for licensing telecommunications operators.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ruled that the two agencies must operate within their respective mandates, describing their relationship as one of “coexistence, not displacement.”
MTN Nigeria has warned customers to disregard fraudulent online posts claiming the telecom operator is offering “1 Month Free Data for Old Subscribers,” describing the promotion as fake and unauthorised.
In a statement shared on its X handle, the telco said the circulating promotion is not from MTN and is not affiliated with the company.
MTN urged customers not to click on the accompanying link in the online post or provide their phone numbers or personal information on any third-party website.
Customers are advised not to click on the link or provide their phone numbers or personal information on any third-party website.
“We will never require customers to submit their details on external platforms to claim data or any other reward,” MTN said.
The company added that all genuine promotions, products and services are announced only through its official communication channels.
“All authentic MTN promotions, products and services are communicated exclusively through our official channels, including www.mtn.ng, our verified social media pages and *180#,” the company said.
MTN also urged customers to remain vigilant against online scams designed to steal personal information, warning that fraudulent offers often impersonate trusted brands to deceive unsuspecting users.
“Don’t be the next victim!” the company said, reiterating that the purported “1 Month Free Data for Old Subscribers” offer is fake and not associated with MTN Nigeria.
National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has dismissed a Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by Pan African Towers Ltd. (PAT) in an employment dispute instituted by its former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Azeez Amida.
The court also awarded ₦500,000 in costs against the company after holding that the application lacked merit.
Justice Essien, who delivered the ruling on July 21 in Suit No. NICN/LA/143/2025: Mr. Azeez Amida v. Pan African Towers Limited, held that the substantive case concerning Amida’s alleged outstanding contractual entitlements under a Mutual Separation Agreement should proceed to hearing.
The ruling effectively rejected the company’s attempt to terminate the proceedings on jurisdictional grounds.
Jurisdictional Challenge Rejected
Pan African Towers had argued that the National Industrial Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because the Mutual Separation Agreement executed between the parties required disputes to first pass through negotiation, mediation and arbitration before litigation could be initiated.
The company maintained that Mr. Amida failed to exhaust those contractual dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
However, Justice Essien rejected the argument after examining evidence presented by the claimant showing that several attempts had been made to activate the agreed dispute resolution process before legal proceedings commenced.
According to the court, documentary evidence showed that Mr. Amida, through his solicitors, issued correspondence and formal demand letters aimed at resolving the dispute amicably in line with the terms of the agreement.
The court found that rather than engaging with those efforts, Pan African Towers failed to meaningfully participate in the process and later sought to rely on the same contractual provisions to challenge the court’s jurisdiction.
Evidence Considered by the Court
According to evidence presented by Mr. Amida’s legal team, the court considered correspondence involving senior officials of Pan African Towers and its investors.
Among the documents relied upon was a letter allegedly written by the Chairman of the Board of Pan African Towers and Partner at Development Partners International (DPI), Mr. Adefolarin Ogunsanya, rejecting the demand made by Mr. Amida’s legal representatives for an amicable resolution before litigation.
The claimant’s legal team also tendered multiple email communications allegedly sent from January 2025 to Verod Capital Management’s in-house legal counsel, Mr. Dipo Okuribido.
According to the claimant, those emails did not receive any response before the commencement of the suit.
Based on the evidence before it, the court held that the conduct of Pan African Towers was inconsistent with reliance on the contractual dispute resolution provisions.
Justice Essien ruled that the company had effectively waived its right to insist on arbitration after frustrating the preliminary dispute resolution process contemplated by the parties’ agreement.
The court consequently held that Pan African Towers could not rely on the arbitration clause to prevent the court from hearing the substantive claims.
Court Awards Costs
Having dismissed the Preliminary Objection, the National Industrial Court awarded costs of ₦500,000 against Pan African Towers.
The court described the objection as lacking merit.
Substantive Defence Yet to Be Filed
The ruling represents the first judicial determination in the employment dispute.
The claimant’s legal team noted that since the suit commenced, the principal response filed by Pan African Towers had been the Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court.
According to the claimant, the company has yet to file a substantive defence addressing the merits of the claims relating to the alleged outstanding contractual entitlements.
With the dismissal of the jurisdictional challenge, the matter will now proceed to hearing on its merits.
The court adjourned the substantive suit until Jan. 12, 2027.
Background to the Dispute
The dispute arose following Mr. Amida’s departure from Pan African Towers after both parties executed a Mutual Separation Agreement.
According to the claimant, while the agreement governed the terms of his exit from the company, certain contractual entitlements remained unpaid.
His legal representatives said they initially sought to resolve the dispute through the mechanisms provided under the agreement by engaging the company through correspondence and formal demand letters.
When those efforts failed to produce a resolution, they commenced proceedings before the National Industrial Court seeking payment of the outstanding contractual entitlements.
Rather than filing a substantive defence to the claims, Pan African Towers challenged the jurisdiction of the court, arguing that arbitration and other dispute resolution mechanisms had not been exhausted.
The National Industrial Court has now rejected that position.
Related Commercial Litigation
The employment proceedings are separate from ongoing commercial cases before the Federal High Court involving Mr. Amida, Development Partners International (DPI), Verod Capital Management and other parties.
Those proceedings relate to issues concerning the ownership of Pan African Towers and remain pending before the courts.
The National Industrial Court noted that those matters would be determined independently based on their respective facts, evidence and applicable legal principles.
Legal Team Reacts
Reacting to the ruling, representatives of Mr. Amida’s legal team welcomed the decision.
“The Court has affirmed an important principle of contractual dispute resolution.
“A party cannot frustrate the agreed process and later seek to rely on that same process to prevent a claim from being heard.
“We now look forward to presenting the substantive case before the Court,” the legal team said.
The lawyers acknowledged that Pan African Towers retained the right under Nigerian law to pursue any available appellate remedies but stated that they were fully prepared for the substantive hearing scheduled for January 2027.
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