NCC, NSCDC Collaborate To Combat Crimes In Telecoms Industry

To combat criminal activity plaguing the nation's telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has teamed up with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Reuben Muoka, the NCC's director of public affairs, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Muoka reported that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two government organisations was praised by senior management employees of the NSCDC in the South West Zone during a special workshop held by the commission.

Criminal activity, including the theft of telecom equipment and the illegal registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, among other things, will be investigated, according to Muoka.

According to him, hot topics discussed at the session included the NCC's actions as provided by the relevant departments in regard to legislation, other rules, and the functions of the NSCDC.

He said that Prof. Umar Danbatta, the NCC's Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC), stated that the commission had cooperated with the appropriate law enforcement agencies over the years to defend the telecoms sector from all forms of criminality.

“Through despicable activities that are criminal and totally at variance with national security concerns of government.

“The deviant elements in our midst have been acting to undermine efforts put in place to consolidate the sector's gains.

“These criminal activities include theft and vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure, the illegal use of fraudulently-registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, operating without a license, illegal call masking and so on,” he said.

Danbatta said that the workshop was organised as part of efforts to constantly engage and update them on new trends and existing regulations.

He claimed that to improve sanity in the telecoms sector, implementing these measures would require coordinated efforts.

Danbatta applauded the NSCDC and other organisations for conducting raids and seizing SIM cards that had been fraudulently registered and were in use.

The EVC also commended the authorities for raising awareness about the importance of safeguarding vital national telecoms infrastructure.

Danbatta stated that the meeting was to study the deployment of enabling laws, subsidiary legislations, and existing guidelines to stop criminality in the sector.

He was represented at the conference by Ephraim Nwokonneya, Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, NCC.