Nigerian Minster, Patami Has Began To Collect Nigerians IMEI
Dr Isa Ali Pantami: Nigeria minister of communications & digital | BBC
Isa Pantami, Nigeria’s minister of communications, widely afflicted by terrorism has begun to acquire information about Nigerians’ phone identification protocols from telecom companies. The move could worsen existing state measures to track and monitor phone users, especially politicians and opposition parties.
Mr. Pantami’s agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission, said all information about active mobile phones in Nigeria will be gathered from telecom companies and stored in a newly set-up Device Management System.
The move is part of the National Communications Commission’s ‘Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration,’ which was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to media reports, President Buhari has approved Mr. Pantami’s plan to conduct the collection and storage of IMEI numbers from Nigerian mobile phones.
Privacy advocates say the policy will allow the government to monitor citizens’ communications and track their locations in real-time.
But the government argues that the project is only intended to help Nigerians recover stolen mobile phones and end fake mobile phone registrations.
“Accordingly, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has directed that the Device Management System should be implemented within three months,” said the revised policy sanctioned by Mr. Pantami.
The policy listed the aims the commission hopes to achieve, which includes 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.”
In order to accomplish these goals, the system will have a database that will contain all registered mobile phones’ IMEI numbers as well as their owners. This 15-digit number is unique to each mobile phone. It serves as a fingerprint for a device.
With the IMEI number, a phone can be tracked and located irrespective of the cellular number in it. Network providers use the IMEI number to identify valid devices and can stop a phone from accessing the network.
The Commission will be able to access every Nigerian’s IMEI number, NIN, and mobile number after the adoption of this policy.
In response to Mr. Pantami’s directive, the telecommunications sector is rushing to complete the NIN-SIM link by the deadline.
Buhari said earlier this month the SIM link program would help the government identify its citizens, particularly criminal deviants, and urged Nigerians and legal residents to obtain the NIN.
However, Mr. Pantami possesses terrorist affiliations, he would be able to gain access to the information of every Nigerian as well as the infrastructure within his jurisdiction, which may raise privacy concerns.
