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Human Rights and Pro-democracy groups have urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to with immediate effects sack the Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Communication Commission (NCC) due to the failure of the Commission to effectively monitor and checkmate the ongoing criminal and economic sabotage cum activities of service providers in the country.
The groups also asked the Federal Government to impose severe sanctions again on the service providers for flouting the rules of sim card registration in line with our extant regulations.
In a joint statement, the Campaign for Democracy (CD) in the South East zone and the Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders’Foundation (HURIDE) lamented that both NCC and Service providers in the country have continued to encourage crime in the country by their continuous sale of registered sim cards by subscribers in open and black markets.
Unfortunately, said the groups, the NCC has failed woefully to exercise its statutory function to checkmate the sale of registered sim cards all over the country.
They said that their investigation showed that NCC’s failure to carry out the enforcement of the non-sale of registration of sim cards in the country has paved the way for the massive sale of registered sim cards in open markets in the country.
“This has therefore increased a quantum leap in the increase in crime throughout the country.
“President Muhammadu should immediately sack the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC and equally bring him to book with all those people who failed to carry out their duties,” said the groups in the statement signed by Dede Uzor A Uzor, Chairman CD, South East zone and Executive Director, HURIDE in Abuja
The rights groups decried the manner the registered sim cards have flooded many popular markets in the country without NCC doing something to arrest and charge the defaulters in court.
They said registered sims are sold in major markets like Kano, Alaba International, Computer Village, Main Market Onitsha, Ariaria Market, and Abuja Market among others markets in the country.
Said the rights groups: ” There is no market where already registered sim cards are not sold in the open market in Nigeria.
Who are those behind the registration and sale?
What is their motive if not to encourage crime”?
They said it is these registered cards that kidnappers and Yahoo boys use in their criminal activities, they can use one sim card to defraud about 200 people”.
The groups then called on the Federal Government to begin immediately clamping down on service providers like MTN, AIRTEL, 9MOBILE, GLO and ETISALAT, especially MTN and AIRTEL are notorious in already registered sim sell in open markets and these unpatriotic and obnoxious activities should stop forthwith while the offenders shall be severally punished accordingly, Dede Uzor Warned.
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