The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has formally prohibited individuals below 18 from purchasing Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that it was a move to enhance national security and protect minors.
This regulatory measure, as confirmed by officials from the NCC, mandates that SIM ownership is reserved for Nigerians who have attained the age of 18, aligning with the age of legal consent in Nigeria.
According to sources within the NCC, the new policy aims to safeguard young Nigerians from potential risks associated with SIM usage.
“This is about protecting minors from liabilities they may not fully understand,” a senior official at the commission disclosed.
Instead, parents and guardians will now bear the responsibility of securing SIM cards on behalf of minors and assume any associated liabilities, ensuring that younger users are adequately monitored and supervised.
The directive aligns with the NCC’s ongoing efforts to address security concerns within the telecommunications sector.
A statement from the commission highlighted that SIM acquisition constitutes a contractual agreement between service providers and subscribers, requiring individuals who are of legal age, mature mind, and capable of assuming the obligations tied to the contract.
The groundwork for this policy was initially set in 2021 when the NCC proposed the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations, which suggested restricting SIM card ownership to adults only.
Now officially enacted, the policy places greater responsibility on parents and guardians to monitor the mobile activities of their underage dependents.
The commission’s recent data underscores the need for such regulations, revealing a considerable drop in Nigeria’s mobile subscriptions — from 219 million in March to 153 million by September.
This reduction follows NCC’s ongoing SIM registration reforms, particularly the removal of SIMs not linked to a verified National Identification Number (NIN).
Additionally, discrepancies in data reporting by certain mobile operators have surfaced as a contributing factor to the inflated subscription numbers.
An NCC source disclosed that one major network operator had inaccurately classified around 40 million inactive subscribers as active, despite a lack of revenue-generating activity over a 90-day period.
This discrepancy, which violated NCC’s guidelines on active subscriber reporting, led to a distortion of industry statistics.
The policy shift reinforces NCC’s commitment to secure telecommunications operations in Nigeria while upholding minors’ protection.
Source :Premium Times
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