The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has denied reports in sections of the media insinuating that the Commission will require Nigerians to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their phones to it from July, 2021.
A statement from NCC’s Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, states that NCC did not at any time request for the registration of IMEI by subscribers and has no plans to do so.
Dr. Adinde stated: “The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission has been drawn to several media publications to the effect that the Commission will require Nigerians to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their phones to it from July, 2021.
“At no time did the Commission issue a statement regarding the registration of IMEI by subscribers and it has no plans to do so”.
He further clarified that the reports in question emanated from a section of the Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration recently launched by President Muhammadu Buhari and which has been uploaded on the Commission’s website.
He explained that the Commission is in the process of deploying a Device Management System (DMS) which will essentially protect subscribers against phone theft and will identify and enable the elimination of fake devices from the networks.
“The system will capture IMEI automatically without any requirement for subscribers to submit same.He said the erroneous publications “created the erroneous impression that telephone subscribers will be required to register their IMEI with their networks”, stressing that nothing like that is in the offing.
