BREAKING: Nigerian Communications Commission Denies Asking Subscribers To Submit Phone IMEI Numbers From July

The Nigerian Communications Commission has refuted reports that mobile subscribers will be required to submit the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) of their phones to it from July, 2021.

The Director of public affairs of the NCC, Ikechukwu Adinde, in a statement on Friday, said the commission did not at any time issue a statement regarding the registration of IMEI by subscribers and it has no plans to do so.

The statement read, “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.

“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.”

Adinde notified the general public to disregard the said publications, which have established the false impression that telephone subscribers will be required to register their IMEI with their networks.