Telecom
NITDA Mulls Review of its Act to Align with Digital Economy Ideals

Mallam Kashifu InuwaAbdullahi, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, on Wednesday, presented a proposal for the realignment of ‘NITDA Act 2007’ with the tenets and ideals of Digital Economy Policy of the current administration, and indeed, the 4th Industrial Revolution before the relevant committees of both chambers of the National Assembly.
Making a valid point before the legislators, Mallam Abdullahi asserted that our technology driven world is filled with promises but also challenges.
He clamored for the need to keep up with the trend of accelerating changes within the IT ecosystem by stressing the need for the review of the ‘NITDA ACT 2007’.
He also hinged the need for the review on President Muhammadu Buhari’s transformation agenda and Digital Economy policy.
The DG started by explaining how, in today’s world, people rely on different social media handles to make informed decisions.
He cited the example of Google for definition/meanings, news report, or navigation; NETFLIX for recommendation on trending movies; AMAZON or ALIBABA sites for what to buy; as well as other social media handles like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
He explained further on the volatility of the human species, saying; “The kind of information we store on our phones and other technological gadgets make the human brain susceptible to the possibility of being hacked”.
While expressing concern over the vulnerability of human species which he said is being threatened by the emerging technologies; he posited that; “Technology disruption is the most disturbing and the least understood”. Adding that; “Technology is taking over the only thing that differentiates us (humans) from other animals”.
He stated that, the era is marked by advancement in digital transformation and artificial intelligence,as he made reference to Mckinsey Global Institute’s latest report ‘on what the future of work will mean for jobs, skills and wages’, that postulates the displacement of about 20,000 million jobs by the year 2030.
Mallam Abdullahi submitted that, keeping up with the global pace has compelled the need to urgently mutate and realign the current ‘NITDA ACT 2007’ to meet the present outlook of the emerging technology in order to secure a place for Nigeria in the emerging global digital economy and 4th industrial revolution.
He concluded by appreciating all the Senators, Honourable Members, and representatives from the office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice for their presences and contributions.
He charged them to become the pivotal of the 2021 NITDA ACT that would position Nigeria into becoming a leading digital economy in Africa and major player in the global arena.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybercrimes, Senator Yakubu Oseni, in his remarks, affirmed that the ICT revolution has accelerated the pace of globalization.
He agrees with the DG that Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind. He promised that his committee will work assiduously with the house committee and other relevant stakeholders to ensure accelerated passage of the new amendment act for NITDA.
“The world has moved into the blazing digital ecosystem, accelerating at the speed of light, with very effective and disruptive innovation and models, such as; Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Robotics, Machine learning, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain implementation and other emerging technologies…”he explained.
He further emphasized that there is ardent need to raise the bar for digital readiness, in order to benefit from the unending economic and developmental opportunities that it presents.
The Senator applauded the NITDA move towards improving its digital space and pledges the support of his committee to the actualization of passing the bill into law.
While delivering his own remarks, Hon. Abubarkar Lado, the Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Information and Communication Technology, added that, the importance of making all necessary amendments in regards to enacting an enabling law for NITDA, as the Apex body in regulatory and development of ICT in Nigeria, is long overdue.
He said, in a sector where technology changes almost every minute, the legislation should be robust enough to accommodate the nature of the ecosystem. He also promised the support of his committee in the passing of the NITDA Amendment bill into law.
Telecom
Telcos Hit by Major Outages across Lagos, Enugu, Others

About nine Nigerian states suffered network disruptions in the first week of June 2025 due to multiple fibre cuts, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) live incident portal.
As a result, the issues subscribers face include prolonged blackouts affecting voice, SMS and data services.
The affected customers are Airtel and 9Mobile subscribers in Lagos, Enugu, Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Abia.
The nationwide disruptions have underscored vulnerabilities in telecom infrastructure.
The outages have left customers stranded, impacting everything from basic communication to digital transactions and business operations.
Data from the platform of the NCC showed that residents of Ikorodu in Lagos are currently experiencing disruptions in SMS, voice, and data services from 9Mobile following a power outage that began in the early hours of June 9, 2025.
The outage has been traced to a diesel shortage at the network’s switch site, leading to a complete power failure.
As of now, the issue has persisted for nearly nine hours, with restoration efforts still ongoing.
Other affected customers are Airtel subscribers. Airtel customers in Ughelli South, Delta State, have been facing a prolonged disruption in data services due to an ongoing power outage that began on June 7, 2025.
The outage stems from multiple generator faults at site DL0231 — DG1 has a faulty injector pump, while DG2 remains unstable due to the same issue.
Telecom
Gaps on Phone Number Recycling Fuel Identity Theft, Data Breaches- ICIR

When Okezie Kelechi lost his SIM card, the one he had used since his secondary school days, he didn’t think much of it.
He was shocked weeks later to find out it had been reassigned to someone else.
“I had no idea that if your SIM card has been inactive for more than three months, they will resell it,” he wrote on social media.
“They recycled my SIM card and sold it. Same number, I have had it since secondary school.”
Kelechi’s story is far from unique.
Across Nigeria, more people are waking up to the realities of what is known as SIM recycling, a process where telecommunication companies reassign inactive phone numbers to new users. While allowed under existing rules set by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the practice is now raising serious concerns over data privacy, fraud, and national security.
A regulatory gap with real-life consequences
Experts in Nigeria’s telecommunications and security sectors are increasingly warning that the NCC’s failure to establish stronger oversight of SIM recycling is endangering millions.
“Beyond the data breaches, this issue posed a big threat to national security. I have always maintained the need for a central data system in Nigeria,” said Daniel Makolo, a retired senior official of the Nigerian Immigration Service to The ICIR.
“There’s much more to this if we don’t pay attention to an appropriate central data mining system that gives us a history of each person in the country.”
Ayodele Ajayi, an engineering professor at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, explained the security risks from his own experience.
“I used to have one Airtel number, but I travelled out. Before I came back, it was reallocated to another user,” he said.
Because phone numbers are tied to Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) and National Identity Numbers (NINs), reassigning them can expose people to identity theft and financial loss.
The NCC should find a way to notify users when their numbers are at risk of being deactivated, Ajayi urged.
He also recounted an incident he witnessed at a bank, “a woman was narrating how she used to have a particular number but lost it. Somebody saw the number and started using it.
The woman said that before she could act, the person who got the number had started using it and had connived with a bank office to almost wipe out all her savings.
“Upon arriving at the bank to check her account balance, she found out that she had only N50,000 left from about N5 million she had saved up.”
Ajayi emphasised that while recycling is a practical move for telcos to manage limited number availability, more caution is needed.
“Let people know so they can migrate their data to another line, particularly now that almost every channel we use is linked to the phone number, including our bank verification number (BVN)”, he stated.
Kelechi recalled that his number was reassigned to another user despite still being active on WhatsApp.
“I used to wonder why random Hausa boys were always messaging me and calling me baby.
He added that “when I finally visited MTN office in Nigeria, I was told the line has been sold to someone else. E pain me, I no go lie.”
Another social media user Elizabeth Kandi, @DrETKandi warning others about the hidden risks of SIM inactivity alleges that when reassigned the new user can have access to your USSD banking.
“If your Nigerian number was connected to your Nigerian bank accounts for USSD, if you didn’t use it for long, the network provider can disconnect and sell the number to someone else…but that person would be able to access your money via USSD,” Kandi wrote.
Her post underscores the growing fear that recycled numbers, still linked to sensitive services like mobile banking, can open the door to fraud and financial loss
Why do Telcos recycle SIMs?
At a virtual stakeholder meeting in April 2025, NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida acknowledged the concern noting that with the evolving landscape, it has become necessary to address emerging challenges that could undermine consumer rights.
He further noted that the Quality-of-Service Business Rules 2024 stipulate that a prepaid line without a revenue-generating event for six months must be deactivated.
This means if a prepaid SIM card goes unused for six months (i.e., no calls, texts, or data use), it must be deactivated.
If the inactivity continues for another six months, the number may be recycled/reallocated to a new user.
In Section 28 of the NCC’s draft business it is stated that all recycled SIMs must be purged of any NIN attached to allow a new user to link their own NIN. But real-world cases suggest that in practice, many recycled numbers are not properly sanitised before reassignment.
The business case for SIM recycling
For telecom operators, recycling isn’t just a technical choice, it’s economic.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), explained that subscribers do not have ownership rights to SIM cards in their possession, as the telecom operators pay procurement and recurring costs for each registered subscriber.
He further explained that SIM cards are “recycled” to prevent number exhaustion while reducing the cost of generating and maintaining them.
“SIM cards are reassigned to reduce the dormant subscribers, as telcos are profit-oriented organisations,” Adebayo said.
In the exercise of its powers under Section 70 of the NCC Act (2003), the commission made provisions for the development of a new numbering plan for Nigeria. Under the provision, telcos are obligated to pay a sum that is the ‘numbering plan fees’ to maintain their allocated numbers.
Telecom
Airtel Recommits to Fraud Prevention after NCC’s N104m Fine for SIM Registration Breaches

Airtel Nigeria has restated its commitment to transparency, customer safety, and regulatory collaboration following recent regulatory enforcement by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The NCC had served Airtel Nigeria a notice of sanction over some alleged SIM infractions in Kano State and consequently slammed a fine of N104 million on the telecommunications firm.
NCC had in a letter, addressed to Airtel Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, dated May 26, 2025, signed by Chizua Whyte, head, Legal and Regulatory Services, and Mohammed Dari, acting head, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, on behalf of Dr Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, NCC, titled: ‘Notice of Sanction: Non-Compliance with SIM Registration Directive in Kano,’ where the infractions were spelt out.
According to NCC, Airtel infractions include unauthorised SIM registrations using 198 unapproved devices, resulting in 8,275 registrations outside the 281 verified Airtel shops; premature activation of 63 MSISDNs prior to proper SIM registration, contrary to the provisions of the Registration of Communications Subscribers Regulations 2022; failure to conduct effective eyeballing, leading to 407 fraudulent SIM registrations with multiple NINs, contrary to the provision of the Registration of Communications Subscribers Regulations 2022 and failure to provide satisfactory explanation for SIM registrations conducted between 12.00 a.m and 6.00 a.m.
On the matter, the letter revealed that there were some letter exchanges and subsequent meetings on the infractions between the telecom regulator and Airtel, starting from January 12, 2025, March 19, 2025, March 24, 2025, and March 27, 2025, respectively.
Apparently, after investigations and responses from Airtel, the NCC was not satisfied and this led to the fine of N104 million, which was to be paid within seven days from the date the letter was issued.
Specifically, NCC fined Airtel N5 million, N12 million, N81.4 million and N5 million for the infractions respectively.
Reacting, Airtel, expressed appreciation to the NCC for uncovering the infractions, describing the development as a critical opportunity to strengthen internal processes and further align with national security and regulatory expectations
“We thank the NCC for its vigilance and continued support in protecting the integrity of the telecoms ecosystem. Airtel takes these findings seriously and is already implementing corrective measures,” a spokesperson for the company said.
Only recently, Airtel Nigeria’s CEO recently announced that the company is doubling its investment in the country, focusing on network expansion, fiber-to-the-street rollout, 4G/5G deployment, customer care upgrades, and digital infrastructure security.
These investments reinforce Airtel’s long-term vision of building a resilient and forward-looking telecom network that meets the evolving needs of Nigerians.
“Our systems are constantly evolving to stay ahead of scammers and malicious actors,” the spokesperson added. “This is not just about compliance; it’s about our responsibility to the millions of Nigerians who rely on Airtel daily.”
Airtel Nigeria says it will continue to work closely with the NCC and other arms of government to ensure high standards of service and safety for all telecom users nationwide.
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