The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Thursday warned Nigerians to desist from buying Pre-registered SIM cards from telecom service providers.
The commission gave the warning at the 102nd edition of its consumer outreach programme (COP) with the theme: “Mitigating Effects of Cybercrimes: Roles of Telecoms Consumers” held at the ancient Mapo Hall in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Speaking at the event, the Deputy Director of Consumer Affairs (Protection Advocacy Group), Mr. Bamiji Ojo, urged all and prospective subscribers to register their SIM cards before using them.
The commission said some of the preregistered SIM had been used to commit crime before the owners disposed them.
“Don’t use preregistered SIM. Don’t buy it. Someone must have used it to carry out crimes and return it. If you buy it and you’re caught you will be held responsible. Go and register your SIM. Nobody can use your SIM because your face and fingerprint are not the same with others”, he said.
The NCC official also allayed the fear that base stations and masks caused ailments and kill those staying closer to the facilities.
“Base stations don’t kill. Without it we can’t communicate. Today, there have been some negative public perceptions and conceptions about telecoms consumers of electromagnetic radiation. It does not cause cancer,” he added.
In his address, the Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau at NCC, Alhaji Ismail Adedigba, said the commission understood the importance of critical stakeholders in the industry.
He said the commission’s mandate is to continuously educate and enlighten the consumers on industry issues.
Also speaking, the Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau of the agency, Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, who was represented by Alhaji Bashir Idris, said: “The commission is committed to using its various outreach programmes to embark on a series of awareness campaigns with a view to keeping consumers abreast of the risks associated with being online, enlightening them on safety measures to be taken once they use connected devices as simple as feature phones, smart-phones and other more sophisticated Internet-enabled devices.”
The programme was attended by consumers, telecoms firms, service providers, government representatives, traditional leaders including the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun; the Otun Olubadan of Ibadan land, Senator Lekan Balogun, who represented the Olubadan of Ibadan land, among others.
