Telecommunications companies now risk payment of N200,000 fine for failure to verify and validate biometric, National Identity Number (NIN), and other personal information of subscribers.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced this in a proposed draft regulation on registration of telephone subscribers 2021 published it’s website.

Recall that the federal government had in September 2020 asked Nigerians to align their national Identity Number, NIN with their SIM cards for a seamless integration.

Government had since then extended the deadline for NIN registration and subscriber identity module (SIM) integration exercise severally to pave way for everyone to be captured.

January 19, 2021 was the initial deadline, but it was moved to February 9, April 6, May 6, June 30, July 26 and now October 31 this year.

According to NCC in Section 19 of the draft document, mobile communications services providers must ensure that NINs are verified and validated before activation and announced a penalty of N200, 000 for those who breach the requirement.

Also, the Commission insisted that the penalty awaits telcos that fail to register subscribers with the central database as well as those who activate subscriptions without appropriate registration of such subscribers.

“Any licensee who fails to capture, or who preregisters, register, deregister or transmit the details of any individual or corporate subscribers to the Central Database as specified in these Regulations or as may be stipulated from time to time by the Commission is liable to a penalty of N200,000.00 for each subscription medium,” the draft reads.

“A licensee who activates any Subscription Medium without capturing, registering and transmitting the personal information to the Central Database commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N200,000.00 for each unregistered activated Subscription Medium.

“A Licensee who fails to verify and validate biometric, NIN and other personal information before activation is liable to a penalty of N200, 000 for each subscription medium in breach of these requirements.”

The Commission had in October 2015, slammed fines on all mobile phone operators over the non-compliance with SIM deactivation directive.

Accordingly, it said it fined MTN N102.2 million, Globacom N7.4 millio, Etisalat (now 9mobile) N7 million and Airtel N3.8 million.

The MTN later got a fine of N1.04 trillion for not deactivating 5.1 million unregistered lines.

Following persistent apology by MTN, the NCC eventually reduced to N330 billion with a condition that MTN will list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), a condition that has now been met by the telco.

MTN started the payment of N275 billion and subsequently pay the balance of N55 billion in 2019. (Vanguard)

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