The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered Mobile Network Operators to immediately halt the sale and activation of new SIM cards pending an audit of the Subscriber Registration Database.
This was contained in a statement on Wednesday by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC Director of Public Affairs who disclosed that it was pertinent for operators to comply until the audit exercise had been concluded.
Adinde said that the audit was directed by Dr. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, noting that an exemption might be granted following approval from the Federal Government through the commission.
According to the director, sanctions, including the possibility of withdrawal of operating license would be meted out to operators who fail to comply with the directive.
He said the audit would serve to build on the achievement of the SIM card registration exercise.
Adinde stressed that the objective of the audit exercise was to ensure compliance to set quality standards and requirements by mobile network operators.
He said the audit was necessitated by the preponderance of pre-registered SIMs with the attendant security implications associated with the use of same to facilitate criminal activities.