The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has discovered cases where a single individual owns over 100,000 SIM cards [1]. You read that right. One hundred thousand SIM cards. That is insane. Here is an excerpt from the NCC’s press release:
Through collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the NCC has uncovered alarming cases where individuals possessed an unusually high number of SIM cards—some exceeding 100,000. The Commission also remains committed to working with security agencies and other stakeholders to crack down on the sale of pre-registered SIMs, thereby safeguarding national security and ensuring the integrity of mobile numbers in Nigeria.
If you are wondering who are the people behind this ridiculous acquisition of SIM cards, I expect that the mobile numbers that are being used by EasyBuy representatives to violate the privacy of people and to defame people be investigated. At the last count, there were over 20 of them that had sent messages to my line. And I haven’t counted all the most recent ones. The number will likely climb to over 30.
No honourable business at that scale uses over 20 different numbers this way. But then, if your business model is based on threatening and harassing people, that will make sense. It definitely will.
Respectable businesses at the scale that EasyBuy operates have call centres and a dedicated line for customer service. They are not deploying multiple random numbers like pirates swarming on the ocean or like terrorists operating from Sambissa, or like kidnappers hiding in forests across the country.
Loan and credit businesses in Nigeria who threaten and harass people this way are definitely an angle that the NCC, NITDA, and other relevant government agencies should investigate to see if they are not part of the rackets registering insane numbers of mobile SIMs to individuals.
None of the individuals who own over 100,000 SIM cards are anonymous; they can be traced, identified, and found. None of the people behind the abuse and violation that loan apps and services subject Nigerians to are anonymous. They can be traced, identified, and apprehended. The mobile network operators have all the records needed to do this; government agencies only need the will power to fish them out.
The NCC has also said that effective September 15, 2024, any SIM card in use in Nigeria without a valid NIN will be rendered inoperative. Let’s hope all goes well this time. That goal post has been shifted already multiple times.
References
- NCC Announces Final Deadline for NIN-SIM Linkage Compliance: September 14, 2024, via NCC website.