The Need for SIM Registration in Nigeria – Issues and Requirements

SIM registration is an on-going exercise in Nigeria. It simply requires individual subscribers to supply necessary information about themselves online.

Before this time, subscribers simply purchase SIM of their desired mobile network providers, insert it into their phones and of course; start using them without any registration. Unfortunately, most subscribers do not know the importance of SIM registration and as a result, see it as stress and a waste of their precious time.

SIM Registration Issues

Nigeria as a nation has well over One Hundred and Fifty Million citizens (150,000,000). Almost every adult and teenager has one or more phones to use and these phones must require SIM card in order to enable calls and text messages.

As a result of this great population, it is somehow stressful to get every SIM duly registered as the queue is always very long. This is exactly why most subscribers find it difficult to go for their SIM card registration.

However, it would have been easier if this exercise was started as soon as phone usage came into existence in Nigeria. This is because subscribers would have registered progressively according to when they acquire their phones respectively.

Unfortunately, this exercise started not quite long ago as Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) which is the regulatory body that supervises the activities of the network providers issued this directive just recently. As a result of this, almost all subscribers are doing this SIM registration at the same time.

The Need for SIM Registration

The followings are the reasons for the NCC to mandate network providers to ensure their subscribers register their SIM cards;

• To capture the bio-data of all the adult citizens of the country.
• To checkmate the excesses of the network providing firms in Nigeria.
• To help the security agencies in Nigeria to easily identify individuals who have committed one crime or the other.
• To enable NCC to have a detailed statistics of the number of subscribers each network provider have.
• To ensure good network services are provided by each network providing firms to the subscribers according to geographical zones or locations.

SIM Registration Requirement

Every subscriber is required to provide the following for SIM registration;

• Subscriber’s bio-data details
• Facial capturing
• Means of identification using International Passport, Driver’s License or National Identification Card.
• Utility bill for home address confirmation.
• Biometric capturing.

It is however worthy of note that SIM Registration does not take more than five (5) minutes to accomplish for each individual. It only calls for more sensitization by both Nigeria government, NCC, and the network providers. Sensitization will enable subscribers to come all out for this exercise.

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