FG Issues New Guidelines For Stolen, Lost Sims

FG has issued new guidelines for stolen and lost sims.

NewsOne Nigeria reports that the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has announced fresh guidelines for the replacement of SIM cards that are damaged, stolen or lost as part of efforts to tidy up the processes of obtaining fresh cards.

This online news platform understands that these new guidelines follow the recommendation of a Ministerial Task Force on issues relating to the telecoms industry and National Identity Numbers.

A statement jointly signed by the spokesmen of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde and Mr Kayode Adegoke, said the new guidelines are to make processes easier for Nigerians.

The statement stressed that the drive to ensure all Subscriber registrations are linked with National Identification Numbers (NINs) was moving forward, while all stakeholders in the industry were working together to ensure the process was carried out as seamlessly as possible.

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According to the statement, the Technical Committee charged with the operationalisation of the process to ensure an expedited linkage of all SIM Registration Records with NIN had recommended fresh guidelines for damaged, stolen or lost SIM cards.

The statement reads as thus; “Based on recommendations of the Technical Committee, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy has approved a SIM Replacement Policy for subscribers whose SIMs have been lost, stolen, misplaced or damaged subject to the following conditions:

i) That the subscriber present a NIN;
ii) That an effective verification of the NIN is carried out by NIMC; and
iii) That the relevant Guidelines and Regulations of NCC concerning SIM Replacement are fully adhered to.

“This policy is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce the burden on subscribers and simplify the exercise.

“It is aimed at enabling telecommunications service users who need to replace their damaged, stolen or misplaced SIMs to re-establish access to telecom services.”