With the Wednesday, September 28, 2011 deadline for the blocking of all unregistered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) Cards in Nigeria fast approaching, the news that some ignorant or unscrupulous elements have started buying and selling pre-registered SIM cards comes as a major setback in meeting the objectives of the exercise.

The Head of Media and Public Relations of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Reuben Muoka, recently disclosed to newsmen how a combined team of the Commission and the Nigeria Police swooped on spots where pre-registered SIM cards were on sale and made a number of arrests in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He said the effort would be extended to all parts of the country to rein in those engaged in the anti-social act.

Following the deadline defined by the NCC, some vendors of SIM cards spotted a new money-making venture by capitalising on the laziness or impatience of the average Nigerian to submit themselves to due process. They started registering SIM cards in huge numbers. The system is akin to the multiple thumb-printing of electoral materials in the typical process of election rigging. A few individuals are employed to register as many cards as possible, which are then taken to the marketplace and sold for as much as one thousand naira (N1,000) apiece instead of the usual two or three hundred naira.

Rather than spend about 30 minutes to register their SIM cards, some Nigerians find it “more convenient” to simply buy pre-registered SIM cards, obviously in ignorance of the grave dangers to themselves and the general public involved in such transactions.

It is quite obvious that the purchase of new pre-registered SIM cards would appeal to criminals or those intending to commit unholy acts using the GSM technology. That probably accounted for the large volume of sales these “traders” were recording despite the exorbitant prices they offered the cards. Pre-registered SIM cards would be found of great interest by terrorists, kidnappers, abductors and advance fee fraudsters, who would not want their calls traced back to them.

Because of ignorance and the high rate of joblessness, especially among the youth, many unsuspecting hands employed to donate their biometric details on multiple SIM card hardly know the dangers to themselves (and others) involved. Hardly do they know that very soon they would be held for high crimes committed by those, who bought the cards. They are not even aware that when many of these cards are used by so many criminals, who bought them, it would confer the status of “hardened criminals” on the unsuspecting registrants. They could be in danger of wasting their lives in jail or at the gallows for crimes they did not commit.

We blame the NCC and the mobile telephony service providers for failing to think ahead on this issue. While the NCC has not done much in efforts to publicise the need for all GSM users to register their SIM cards (thus leaving the burden to the service providers) the latter only emphasise urging their customers to register their SIM card. No effort is made to warn of the dangers of buying pre-registered cards. Now that we have seen this potentially dangerous criminal act in action, it is not too late for the two groups to put efforts in this direction.

We call on those who have purchased these pre-registered cards due to ignorance to voluntarily give them up to the authorities. More importantly, those who participated in the pre-registration of these cards for sale should also turn themselves in. We call on the law enforcement agencies and the NCC not to take any punitive measures against those who do so. A deadline should be set for those involved to report themselves for documentation, after which anyone found to have bought, sold or participated in the pre-registration of SIM cards would be treated as criminals.

We also call on the NCC and relevant statutory bodies to focus more attention on the activities of retail vendors in the entire ICT sector. Vendors should register before they can sell. That way, every vendor will be under regulation and it will be easier to identify those engaging in unwholesome or anti-social practice.

It will also be helpful of vendors in the sector to form themselves into associations and thus operate by approved codes of conduct to which all members will be bound. Unless we take a tighter grip on the regulation of activities of vendors in the downstream ICT sector, the potentials of criminal sabotage of the system through that sector are almost limitless.