The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has warned that the illegal sale of pre-registered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards by vendors linked to telecommunications companies is posing a serious threat to national security.
The Centre said such SIM cards, which are registered in the names of individuals other than their actual users, provide criminals with false identities that can be exploited to facilitate terrorism, kidnapping, ransom demands, cybercrime, fraud and other criminal activities.
Akaninyene Ezima, Director of the NPF-NCCC, raised the alarm during a press conference in Abuja, where he disclosed that security agencies had recovered several pre-registered SIM cards and other digital devices from suspects under investigation.
Ezima said the development was particularly concerning because criminals could obtain multiple SIM cards registered to different identities, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to immediately establish the actual users behind criminal communications.
“This is a threat to national security. Totally, we have 50 pre-registered SIM cards. That is 50 fake identities,” he said.
