Human Rights Activist uncovers fake SIM registration agents, calls for crackdown
Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia
A popular on-air personality and human rights activist, based in Umuahia the Abia State capital Mr
Johnson Ikechukwu,
has raised an alarm after uncovering how some unscrupulous SIM registration agents in the state are fraudulently using the National Identification Numbers (NIN) of innocent citizens to activate SIM cards which are later allegedly sold to criminals.
He called on the Abia State Government and relevant security agencies to urgently clamp down on SIM card registration agents who are reportedly aiding criminal activities through the illegal registration practices.
According to Ikechukwu, findings from his personal investigations revealed that “some of these agents have turned SIM registration into a black-market business.
“They register dozens of lines with stolen or bought NINs and sell them to internet fraudsters and other criminal elements, making it difficult for security operatives to trace crime back to the real perpetrators.” he said.
He noted that the trend not only violates the rights of innocent Nigerians but poses a grave threat to national security, especially with the growing sophistication of cyber and phone-based crimes.
Ikechukwu cited, Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which states:
“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”.
He urged the Abia State Government, in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and law enforcement agencies, to launch a task force that will monitor, regulate, and penalize illegal SIM card registration practices across the state.
“The government must act now. Innocent citizens are being implicated in crimes they know nothing about simply because their identities were used to register SIMs they never owned,” Ikechukwu said.
He further called for public awareness campaigns and stiffer penalties for agents found culpable, insisting that data protection and identity security must be treated as a matter of urgent public interest.