In what was described as a move to start implementing the Device Management System, Nigerians are expected to submit their phones’ International Mobile Equipment Identity, IMEI Numbers to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.
In a revised National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration, the NCC said the submission of the numbers would start from July 2021.
According to the NCC, the policy is a Centralised Equipment Identity Register approved by President Muhammadu Buhari. EveryEvery.ng gathered that President Buhari ordered the NCC to implement the Device Management System within three months.
Meanwhile, the NCC said the submission of the IMEI numbers would discourage mobile phone theft, curtail the counterfeit mobile phone market, enhance National Security, increase revenue generation for the government and protect consumer interest.
IMEI Numbers
The agency added that the process would also reduce the use of stolen phones for crime, mitigate the rate of kidnapping and tracing and blocking of stolen mobile phones and other smart devices.
The NCC explained that the Device Management System would serve as a repository for keeping records of all registered phones’ International Mobile Equipment Identity.
The IMEI numbers are the 15-digit number unique to each phone, with which a phone can be tracked and located. Meanwhile, this new policy is an indication that the NCC will have the IMEI numbers, National Identification Number and phone of every Nigerian.
