Nigeria will shut down any telecom operator flaunting a government directive for all subscribers of mobile phones to be registered, Minister of Communication and Information Dora Akunyili said on the state-owned Nigerian Television Authority late yesterday.
“If you don’t want to register SIM cards, please shut down before we shut you down,” Akunyili said at a meeting with representatives of the telecom operators, NTA reported.
Nigeria, which has the fastest growing telecom industry in Africa, began the registration of new subscribers in May. The exercise is aimed at curbing the use of mobile phones in crimes including armed robbery and kidnapping in Africa’s most populous nation.
The registration involves operators obtaining information of new subscribers such as fingerprints and digital passport photos. Before now, mobile-phone subscribers simply walked into shops and bought ready-to-use SIM cards, without being asked for any form of identification.
Registration of existing subscribers will begin at a later date, the Nigerian Communications Commission, which regulates the industry, said this month.