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Paradigm Initiative Asks Court to Stop NCC from Disconnecting Subscribers

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Paradigm Initiative has gone to court to restrain the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) from implementing the directive to disconnect all SIM cards that are not linked to the National Identification Number (NIN) by December 30, 2020

Paradigm Initiative Asks Court to Stop NCC from Disconnecting Subscribers

The directive came from Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, who had last week convened a stakeholders’ meeting, where decisions were taken that telecoms operators would require all their subscribers to provide valid NIN to update their SIM registration record.

Subscribers were therefore mandated to submit their NIN to their service providers within two weeks, from December 16-30, 2020 and that after the deadline, all SIMs that are not linked to NIN will be blocked.

Owing to this, PIN went to court, seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the government and the service providers from carrying out the draconian order as it believes it was a violation of fundamental rights to freedom of expression of Nigerian Citizens as guaranteed by Section 39 of the Nigerian 1999 constitution, as amended.

Adeboye Adegoke, senior programme manager at Paradigm Initiative, said the proposed blocking of SIM cards not linked with the National Identity Number, was unlawful and unconstitutional.

According to Adegoke, “Many young people and others, using their mobile phones for expression or to do business online will be affected by the poorly thought-out policy. No reasonable Nigerian will support such a policy that is geared to make life unbearable for Nigerian citizens.”

He quoted Aliyu Aziz, director-general of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), who said in June 2020 that only 38 per cent of Nigerians have any form of identification, which indicates that over 100 million Nigerians have no identity (ID).

Adegoke said the directive had created panic in the polity since it was announced.

According to him, “Nigeria at the moment is experiencing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic according to the daily numbers from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the past one week.

“This is a time when we need to discourage public gatherings, crowding, and the likes, but it appears that the government is not sensitive enough to see those nuances and has asked that 100 million Nigerians should go and register for the National Identification Number within two weeks, so we are left with no choice but to seek the intervention of the court.”

Valery Nijaba, communications officer at Paradigm Initiative, said: “Requiring over 100 million Nigerian citizens to register for NIN in two weeks is not only unrealistic but a fire brigade approach to governance that will not bring any value to the people.

“Whatever the government is trying to achieve by the strange directive is ignoble.

“When the same government tried to compel students writing UTME examinations to register for the NIN as a pre-requisite to sitting for the examinations last year, many students couldn’t register, with documented cases of government officials and law enforcement officials weaponising the desperation of the students to register for NIN to extort them and their parents.

“The government was forced to walk back on the policy at that instance. These are the type of effects the fire-brigade approach to policymaking leads to.”


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MTN Says New N6.98 USSD Charge Won’t Affect Airtime Recharge

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Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief Enterprise business officer, MTN Nigeria, has assured the network subscribers that the new end-user billing system for the use of USSD services will jot affect them.

MTN Says New N6.98 USSD Charge Won’t Affect Airtime Recharge

USSD, otherwise Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes are commonly used for banking transactions, airtime recharges, and other mobile services.

The telco said that  there is no significant impact or change other than the fact that they will now pay the same N6.98 per session (120 seconds) with their airtime instead of direct bank debit.

Saint-Nwafor, said this during a chat with MTN MIP fellows, explaining that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered telecom operators to ensure that the new billing model resolves trust issues and ensures transparency in the billing process.

“Our regulator insisted that at the end of every month, we are going to be providing history and statistics on the performance of the service across the board”, she explained.

Saint-Nwafor added that the new billing model has standardized messaging across all operators and ensures consistent communication with customers.

“We will take all the error codes and map them into messages that are standardised across the board. So, if you initiate a transaction, you will know if it is failing. And, when the transaction fails, you will know if it is from your bank or the telco,” she explained.

 


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Crypto Scam Unmasked: U.S. Recovers Record $225m in Global Fraud Bust

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The U.S. government has recovered $225 million in what is now the largest seizure of funds linked to a cryptocurrency investment scam.

In a statement released Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the recovery followed an extensive investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, using blockchain analysis and other forensic tools. The statement did not confirm whether any arrests had been made.

According to the authorities, the stolen funds originated from fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes that tricked victims into believing they were making legitimate investments. More than 400 individuals around the world, including dozens in the United States, were reportedly affected.

The operation involved a sophisticated money laundering network that carried out hundreds of thousands of blockchain transactions to obscure the source and ownership of the stolen assets.

“These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims,” said Shawn Bradstreet, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Secret Service office in San Francisco.

Bradstreet added that U.S. officials hope the recovered funds can eventually be returned to the rightful victims.

Cryptocurrency investment fraud accounted for over $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone, according to the statement.


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Nnaemeka Ani Calls on African Techies to Rewrite the Narrative

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Hon. Nnaemeka Ani
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In a rousing declaration that is electrifying minds across the continent, Hon. Nnaemeka Ani, Special Adviser on ICT to Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has called for a homegrown digital revolution under the banner “Africa Will Rise: By Code, By Courage, By Us.”

Hon. Nnaemeka Ani

The message, part challenge, part philosophical—seeks to galvanize African innovators to move beyond buzzwords and build technology with impact and legacy in mind.

“Let’s stop building for hype. Let’s start building for legacy,” Ani urged while speaking to ICT journalists over the weekend. “Let’s stop waiting for someone else. Let’s start creating the future—on our own terms.”

At the heart of Ani’s vision is a shift from tech consumerism to tech authorship. With innovation hubs sprouting across cities like Enugu, Lagos, Kigali, Jo’Burg, and Nairobi, and a growing community of developers, engineers, and entrepreneurs determined to solve Africa’s unique challenges, the movement is already taking shape.

Ani emphasized that Africa’s future lies not in flashy apps or international admiration but in persistent, intentional solutions that uplift communities—solutions that digitize public services, bridge rural-urban divides, empower women and youth, and build resilience in food and climate systems.

“We have the talent,” he said. “Now it’s time to harness it—to stop building for likes and start building for lasting impact.”

With support from leaders like Ani and rising momentum in Africa’s tech corridors, it seems that a new chapter is being written—one line of code at a time.


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