Subscribers Not Required To Submit IMEI – NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that subscribers are not required to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their phones to it from July 2021.

Naija News had reported that the directive is to be implemented within three months, as contained in the revised National Identity Policy for SIM card registration which was released on May 11, 2021.

However, Nigerians took to social media to condemn the commission for asking Nigerians to submit their phone identification numbers to it from July.

Reacting to the reports, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Adinde, said at no time did the commission issue a statement regarding the registration of IMEI by subscribers and it has no plans to do so.

Adinde advised the general public to disregard the publications which have created the impression that telephone subscribers will be required to register their IMEI with their networks.

“The reports in question have 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,” the statement read.

“It is pertinent to state that the Commission is in the process of deploying a Device Management System (DMS). The DMS 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.”