The government intends to keep records of all registered mobile phones and owners of these phones, with this move.
Nigerians to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their phones in July – NCC
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that residents and citizens would have to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their phones to the agency in July.
This was detailed in the commission’s revised National Identity Policy for SIM card registration.
According to the policy the directive was from the Federal President of the country, Muhammadu Buhari.
Excerpts from the policy read as follows: “Accordingly, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has directed that the Device Management System should be implemented within three months.
“With the aim to curtail the counterfeit mobile phone market, discourage mobile phone theft, enhance national security, protect consumer interest, increase revenue generation for the government, reduce the rate of kidnapping, mitigate the use of stolen phones for crime, and facilitate blocking or tracing of stolen mobile phones and other smart devices, one of the means to achieve this is through the deployment of Device Management System.
“The implementation of a Centralised Equipment Identity Register otherwise known as Device Management System will serve as a repository for keeping records of all registered mobile phones’ International Mobile Equipment Identity and owners of such devices.
“IMEIs that have been reported as either stolen or illegal will be shared through the DMS to all the operators and service providers.”
According to Wikipedia: The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a number, usually unique, to identify 3GPP and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone, but can also be displayed on-screen on most phones by entering *#06# MMI Supplementary Service code on the dialpad, or alongside other system information in the settings menu on smartphone operating systems.
GSM networks use the IMEI number to identify valid devices, and can stop a stolen phone from accessing the network. For example, if a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can have their network provider use the IMEI number to blocklist the phone. This renders the phone useless on that network and sometimes other networks, even if the thief changes the phone’s subscriber identity module (SIM).
