Nigerians may be restricted to not more than three SIM cards per person as a new policy is to emerge.
The decision to come up with the new policy followed reports from security agencies.
Already, a directive has been issued to the Nigerian Communication Commission by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy to that effect.
The new decision was made known in a statement issued by Mr. Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology), to the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Patanmi.
The changes expected to take effect with the new policy are that:
*Only fully accredited agents (should) support the SIM card registration process without pre-registering SIM cards themselves, while the eventual registration should be done by the operators.
*There should be a maximum number of SIM cards that can be tied to a single individual, possibly a maximum of 3.
*No unregistered SIMs are ever allowed on mobile networks.
*Subscribers can easily check the number of SIM cards registered to their name, along with the associated phone numbers and networks.
*Mobile network operators should fortify their networks against cyberattacks and ensure that they adhere to the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR)
*SIM cards that have been used to perpetrate crimes are permanently deactivated.
*NCC is to provide the Minister with progress reports on the implementation of the revised Policy.
