Pre-registered SIM Cards Pose Threat to National Security, Police Assert
Linus Aleke in Abuja
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) said pre-registered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards sold by vendors of telecommunications companies pose serious threats to national security.
The Director of the Centre, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Akaninyene Ezima, made this assertion during a press conference in Abuja.
He stated that pre-registered SIM cards make it easier for terrorists demanding ransom and other cybercriminals to operate, while making it more difficult for security agencies to track them.
He, however, assured that, difficult as it may be, they would eventually be tracked down.
According to him:
“This is a threat to national security. Totally,we have 50 pre-registered SIM cards. That is 50 fake identities.
“Anybody can assume these identities and commit any crime. And then, in the course of this business compromise, the nation is put at risk, and these are also some of the devices that we recovered from the suspects. We have subjected them to forensic analysis.
“You know we have a lot of forensic capacity. We have subjected them to forensic analysis and we have information which we are still working on. And, of course, like I said earlier, all these matters are going to court.”
Asked if the telecommunications companies would be joined in the lawsuit, AIG Ezima answered in the negative, explaining that the companies were not actively involved, based on what the investigation had revealed.
“They are not actively involved in the direct sale of pre-registered SIM cards because it is against the law. Rather, it is those that are working for them. It is some of their vendors, that get involved in this thing.
“So the only thing I want to tell them is that they should apply some more caution and more stringent measures in choosing their vendors. If you go around the premises of some major telecom companies, you see some young chaps hanging around selling SIM cards. They should also put more effort into ensuring that they sanitise their environment to protect their corporate image.
“It’s not the service providers that send them to do this.”
On whether plans were underway to engage the telecommunications companies, the director said: “We engage with them on a regular basis. We let them know what is right and how they should go about some of these things. But you see, sadly, some people still get involved in some of these things. There’s always crime. Despite all your best intentions, despite all your best efforts, some people are ready to do anything to make money. So it is those little number that we are now after. Let us not stigmatise these companies; they are doing their legitimate businesses, they are not responsible for the actions of the criminal.”
Asked to name the telecommunications company with the highest number of pre-registered SIM cards that he displayed as exhibits during the briefing, he answered: “Whether one company has 100 and another one has two, it’s not reflective of measures being taken by them. Rather, it’s on the people that are doing the wrong thing.”