The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has warned that the sale of pre-registered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards by vendors of telecommunications companies poses a serious threat to national security.
The Director of the Centre, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Akaninyene Ezima, raised the alarm during a press conference in Abuja.
According to Ezima, pre-registered SIM cards provide terrorists, including ransom-seeking kidnappers, and other cybercriminals with fake identities that make it more difficult for security agencies to trace their activities.
He, however, assured that security agencies would eventually track down those behind such crimes, despite the challenges involved.
“This is a threat to national security. Totally, we have 50 pre-registered SIM cards. That is 50 fake identities,” Ezima said.
“Anybody can assume these identities and commit any crime. And then, in the course of this business compromise, the nation is put at risk.”
He added that some of the devices recovered from suspects had been subjected to forensic analysis, with investigators obtaining information that could assist ongoing investigations.
“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,” he said.
Telecom Companies Not Directly Involved
Asked whether telecommunications companies would be joined in the legal proceedings, Ezima said no, explaining that investigations had not established their direct involvement in the sale of pre-registered SIM cards.
“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,” he said.
He urged telecommunications companies to exercise greater caution and adopt stricter measures when selecting and monitoring 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,” he said.
“It’s not the service providers that send them to do this.”
Police Engage Telecom Operators
Ezima said the police regularly engage telecommunications companies to ensure compliance and address emerging security concerns.
“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,” he said.
He noted, however, that despite the efforts of both regulators and service providers, some individuals would continue to engage in criminal activities for financial gain.
“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,” he said.
Ezima also cautioned against blaming telecommunications companies for the actions of individual criminals.
“Let us not stigmatise these companies; they are doing their legitimate businesses, they are not responsible for the actions of the criminal,” he said.
Police Decline to Name Telecom Operator
When asked which telecommunications company had the highest number of pre-registered SIM cards displayed as exhibits during the briefing, Ezima declined to identify any operator.
“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,” he said.
