In December 2020, the Nigerian Government mandated subscribers to link their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards with their National Identity Numbers, (NIN) to improve national security and reduce identity fraud and other online crimes, but the process has been sabotaged by corrupt registration agents who continue to falsify SIM registration details and sell pre-registered SIM cards. This investigation exposes how anyone could misrepresent his true identity while obtaining a new SIM card to circumvent the administration of justice for a token in Nigeria. Abdulwasiu Olokooba reports.
SIM Cards Displayed By A Street Vendor At Post-Office Area, Ilorin, Kwara State. Credit: Abdulwasiu Olokooba
It’s noon, on a Tuesday in September. I arrived at Oja-Oba Market in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. It wasn’t hard to locate the SIM registration centre at the market roundabout. Three young men and a lady were seen under a yellow umbrella branded with the MTN logo. I moved close to them to get their attention.
A young man clad in a Nike ash-coloured armless shirt attended to me after we exchanged pleasantries. I told him I wanted a new SIM card but did not have a NIN slip to submit for registration.
