Nigerian Communications Commission, on Wednesday, ordered Mobile Network Operators to immediately suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards to give room to an audit of the Subscriber Registration Database.
NCC Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said in a statement that it was absolutely necessary for operators to comply until the audit exercise had been concluded.
He said the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, directed the commission to carry out an audit of the Subscriber Registration Database.
But Adinde said an exemption might be granted following approval from the Federal Government through the NCC.
The commission’s spokesman warned that non-compliance with the NCC DG’s order would be severely sanctioned even with the withdrawal of operating license.
He said the audit would help to consolidate the achievement of the SIM Card registration exercise.
NCC public affairs director noted that the objective of the audit exercise was to ensure compliance to set quality standards and requirements by mobile network operators.
He said the directive became necessary in view of the high number of pre-registered SIMs in existence in view of the attendant security implications posed by their use for criminal activities.