SOLOMON ODENIYI writes about Nigerians subjected to undue problems after becoming new owners of recycled Subscribers Identification Module cards
A lecturer with the College of Education, Foreign Link campus, Moro, Ife North, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Babajide Towolawi, woke up one bright morning to prepare for his classes when his phone rang suddenly. Though the number was unknown to him, he nonetheless picked it. He was surprised when the caller’s voice blurted out in Yoruba, “Eyin lepa egbon wa abi, etun wa ji phone won?” Roughly translated to mean, “You killed our brother and still stole his phone.’’
Towolani said he was initially transfixed to a spot like an effigy, listening fearfully as the caller reeled out pejorative allegations against him without allowing him to utter a word.
The lecturer told our correspondent that the caller hurled insults and curses at him. He said, “I tried to inject but he drowned my voice with his shouts. I broke into sweats. I had never started my day in such a horrible way. From the way he sounded, I think his older brother who probably was the former owner of the line I am using was killed. It took some time before they discovered he was dead. But because his line was inactive at the time, the network provider recycled the line. The entire saga wasn’t a fun experience.”
Towolawi said that he laid the allegation to rest when he snapped the Subscribers Identification Module pack and send it to the caller on his line which he discovered was connected to WhatsApp. The lecturer is among other Nigerians facing the nasty experiences associated with recycled lines.
A SIM is a card that stores identification information which restricts a smartphone to a specific mobile network.
Frustrations galore
Another Nigerian identified only as Oluwatosin got more than he could chew when in 2019 he bought a SIM from one of the leading telcos in the country.
He stated that since he purchased the SIM, calls from friends and family of the previous owner flooded his line with the request to speak with the previous owner of the line.
Oluwatosin said, “For over two years now, I have been receiving calls on the line with different numbers demanding to speak with the owner of the line. They are friends and relatives of the previous owner. I find it disturbing. The last of the calls came in alongside a WhatsApp message on April 9, 2022.”
Oluwatosin noted that he later discovered that the whereabouts of the previous owner of the line had yet been known by his family and friends.
He added, “I think telecom providers should stop giving recycling numbers. I remembered taking my time to speak with the mother of the former owner of the phone. She said her son’s whereabouts had been unknown for a while. I consoled her and asked that she report the matter to the nearest police station. I promised I would help in any way I could. Before this period, I would just tell the caller that it was a wrong number. But I decided to explain to the caller on a particular day and the person turned out to be the mother of the former owner of the line as she introduced herself. I reasoned that my speaking with one of the callers would end the incessant calls.
“But I soon regretted doing this when the supposed fiancée of the missing person called. She got me infuriated. I didn’t argue with her that her fiancé previously owned the line. But she didn’t believe I wasn’t her fiancé. I thought taking my time to explain things to her would change the situation but that did not happen.”
Oluwatosin added that the lady refuted his explanations, raised her voice and accused him of sounding like her fiancé. He stated, “She then said ‘Chuks. I leave you in the hands of God. You have gone to settle down with another lady and you abandoned me. My God will judge you.’”
Oluwatosin said that it’s hard for him to discard the line since many people had identified him with it, adding that he still got a call from someone who referred to him as Chuks and urged him to return home.
He, however, added that he feared a possible summons from the police with the way the issue was heading.
Oluwatosin and Towolawi were lucky their situations didn’t end up like that of an Asaba businessman, Anthony Okolie. Okolie reportedly purchased a SIM card which he registered as mandated by the Nigerian Communications Commission. He was later arrested in 2019 and detained for 10 weeks by the Department of State Services, for purchasing a SIM card previously used by Hanan; daughter to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd). Okolie sued the DSS and in 2020, a federal high court in Asaba, Delta State, ordered the services to pay him N10m in compensation for violation of human rights.
For a communication expert, Bankole Adeshina, he was accused of stealing a SIM card he now owns which was formerly used by a Hausa entrepreneur.
He said, ‘’Not long after I purchased the SIM, I started receiving calls from people speaking Hausa asking me to give the phone to the owner. I was always told that it was the wrong number. But the calls did not stop. They started accusing me of stealing the man’s phone.’’
Bankole said he got disturbed when he began to receive bank notifications and other vital information belonging to the previous owner on his new line.
He said, ‘The scariest part was the bank notifies authorisation for transfers. Oftentimes, the amount of money involved is huge. There was also a marriage invitation from a prominent politician sent to the line. Perhaps, the sender assumes the former owner still uses the line. I replied to the message that I am the new owner of the line. At another time, I received a message on a procurement contract to be paid for after supply. It was a government contract. I sent a message that I wasn’t the man.”
He added that despite his explanations via text messages to callers, he got calls threatening to deal with him for allegedly stealing the man’s phone.
Bankole said, “One of the callers who is a male shouted at me on the phone and threatened me. He said I would regret stealing the man’s line. I had to quickly report the matter to the police station. It wasn’t a funny experience.”
Also, an Osun State-based trader, Khayrat Abdulaziz, said she received calls and bank notification alerts from the previous owner of the line that’s now hers.
According to her, she has access to the private information of the previous owner of the line as he saved vital information on the line.
She said, “I always laugh whenever I receive such notification from the former owner’s bank. The money is always huge. I also received messages from his Pension Fund Administrator, telling me not to disclose the pension number to another person. On the person’s birthday, I get messages too. That means I have access to several pieces of information belonging to the former owner of the line. I think he registered the number for his Bank Verification Number.
“What else does a fraudster need? I was not even bothered about the calls asking to speak with him. I always pity the previous owner of the line because of his vital information I see every time. I thought sometime ago about what would have happened if a fraudster bought the line. I strongly believe that lines should not be reallocated even if the person is not using it again.’’
In the case of Sandra Eshe, the new owner of her previous line impersonated her and tried to defraud her friends.
She said, “In 2019 when I attended a gospel concert, ‘The Experience,’ my phone was stolen and I lost my SIM. I tried to retrieve my line in Ajah so they said I had to go to the office of the telco. I was redirected to get an affidavit but the stress was too much. I wondered why I was being stressed when I could get another SIM for N200? I abandoned the SIM. Throughout 2020, I didn’t use the SIM. Last year, a friend called me on my new line to apologise that he missed my call a day before. I told him that I didn’t call him.
“He said I called with my other number. He sent me the number. When I checked, I discovered it was my old number. I told him I don’t use the number anymore. He said he would call the number. He said the new owner of the number called and acted like it was me and requested a favour from him. In the same month, another person called to say he missed my call and I told them I no longer use the number. I had to post on my WhatsApp status that my old number is missing and that any call from the number wasn’t from me.’’
Eshe noted that it was not right to recycle lines when the former owner no longer has access to it.
In his narration to Saturday PUNCH, another victim, Femi Habeeb, said strange numbers always called him, asking to speak to the real owner of his phone number. He stated that he used to dismiss the callers that they called a wrong number.
He said, “Some unknown callers always reach me on the line, shouting that they wanted to speak to one Tawa. They always say that the line belongs to the person. This continued for about a year.
“On a particular day, someone called me and requested to speak with Tawa. We had a heated conversation. Although the calls stopped for a while, I noticed the voice of a particular elderly woman who always calls and mentions Tawa every time she calls. I have decided to turn a deaf ear to it. The calls have a way of disturbing my thought process. Once a number has been issued to someone else, whether the person stops using the number for a period of time or not, it should not be assigned to another person.”
Habeeb also recalled how the new owner of an inherited SIM attempted to withdraw money from his sister’s account.
He said, “We once had an experience in our family when my sister stopped using her SIM for a period of time and all of a sudden her line was deactivated and the line was assigned to someone else. The new owner received alerts and bank notifications of my sister’s account on the line. It was not until he attempted to withdraw money from my sister’s account that we knew it had been reallocated to someone else.”
There is the case of the widow of a popular comedian and broadcaster whose SIM is currently recycled. The new owner gets calls from those close to the former owner of the SIM. She’s always quick to tell the callers that she knew who they wanted to talk with but inform them she’s the new owner of the SIM. The widow stated that the line was once recycled but she got it back until she stopped using it and it was recycled again. She said, “I have reached out to the new owner of the SIM to let me have it back but she’s not willing and I ignored it.”
The new owner of the SIM undergoes stress of picking calls of those who want to speak with the widow for no fault of hers.
Statistics on subscribers
The NCC stated that as of February 2022, there were 305,979,204 connected lines in the country, out of which 198,123,431 lines were active.
The figures indicate that 107,855,773 lines would be purchased by Nigerians when recycled. The new owners may have to face nasty experiences faced by the foregoing who purchased the reassigned lines.
Telcos, NCC, ALTON keep mum
Several calls to the NCC’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Adinde, were not answered. He also had yet to respond to a message sent to him on the matter.
Also, an enquiry on some of the subscribers’ claims was sent as complaints on the portal of the NCC but there had yet to be a response.
On his part, the Head, Corporate Communications, Airtel, Erhunmu Bayagbon, spoke with our correspondent after many calls were made to his mobile. He told our correspondent to send a text message but he had yet to respond as of the time this report was filed.
Contacted, MTN’s Senior Manager, External Relations, Mr Funsho Aina, also requested a text message to be sent but he had also not responded to it as at press time.
But an expert in the telecoms industry who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was impossible for service providers to leave a line inactive, stating that they pay rent on active and inactive lines on a yearly basis.
The source said the laws guiding telcos’ don’t compel them to notify subscribers before recycling dormant SIMs.
The source said, ‘’It is recognised by the law to recycle SIM cards. Telcos pay about N200 as rent on each line yearly. What the regulation says is that if a line is dormant and without commercial activities such as sending of text messages, making of calls and loading of recharge cards for six months, telcos have the right to recycle the line.
“So if a subscriber doesn’t use a line, the telco is losing revenue and also paying rent. They have to reissue it for who can use it. According to the rule book, telcos are not under any obligation to notify customers before they reissue lines.’’
The source said subscribers could approach their service providers and pay a yearly fee to enable them retain their lines.
“If a subscriber is still interested in keeping any line, there is a special package for that. The subscriber will pay a fixed amount which they can renew on a yearly basis,’’ the expert added.
He also said security operatives could approach service providers to get call and message logs even after the lines had been reissued.
The source further stated, ‘’In their status book, it was never stated for them to consult security agents before they can reissue a line. Besides, they have what is called Call Data Record. It contains the record of every call and message sent on that line before and after it has been reissued. If any of the security agencies is investigating any of the reissued lines , they can write to the service provider in question and it would be given to them.’’
Besides, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, neither picked calls made to his line nor responded to the text messages sent to him.
But on January 20, 2020, Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, was quoted to have said a dormant SIM not in use for a period of 180 days, could be reallocated to another subscriber even without the knowledge of the original subscriber.
He said, “The issue of 180 days validity period, bordered on regulations, which NCC is empowered to make and publish after due consultations with industry stakeholders. This is consistent with Section 70 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003).
SIM cards are a national resource, just like telecoms’ spectrum, which no subscriber can claim ownership of, even though the SIM card is registered in the subscriber’s name. Telecoms operators have autonomous power to reassign any SIM card dormant for 180 days to another subscriber, without recourse to the initial subscriber.”
He, however, said it would not be economically viable for an operator to keep a dormant SIM card on its network, since it costs a lot of money to build and maintain telecoms infrastructure, including maintenance of every SIM card on the operators’ network.
But the position didn’t justify the unpleasant experiences suffered by buyers of recycled SIMs.
“Recycling SIMs constitutes security threat’’
In his comment on the issue, a security expert, Timothy Avele, said that recycling of SIM posed a security threat to the new owner. He added that it was a serious security breach that both the telcos and NCC must address.
Avele said, “This in itself is a security threat to the new owner especially if such SIM is linked to a serious crime by the previous owner. For now, there’s nothing anyone can do about it as it’s solely the telecom companies and the NCC that can resolve this issue. My advice for such new owners getting this threat is to simply report it to the nearest police station for documentation, just to be on the safe side. While at the station to document, state your full name, address, date of purchase and if possible numbers that called to threaten you.”
Avele also said that recycling lines could frustrate the investigation of serious crimes like murder, and armed robbery among others.
He said, “The other concern that whether recycling of lines could jeopardise or frustrate investigation of serious crimes such as murder, robbery etc, to some extent, yes. In that, it could prolong such investigation tracing the Call Data Record.”
Besides, a certified golden member of the International Security Association, Switzerland, Jackson Ojo, disclosed that one of his special lines was recycled after three months of being inactive.
He stated, “About a year ago, I was a victim. There is one of my lines, because my lines are registered, they called it platinum or golden line. They are special lines.
I used to carry about two to three phones at the time. There was a time when one of my phones got spoiled, so I removed the SIM on it and left it in my house for almost three months unused. The day I bought a phone and restarted it, I discovered that it had been reassigned to another person. “
He accused the service providers of being driven solely by the aim to make profits, asking relevant authorities to effectively regulate the service providers.
Ojo said, “I won’t blame the network providers. They are looking for money but we have agencies to regulate their activities. Is there no committee like that in the Senate, House of Representatives? What’s the work of the NCC? Do DSS, NIA and other security agencies monitor activities of the network providers regarding recycling of SIMs. The NCC, communications minister, security apparatus, Senate committee on communication and the House committee on communication should look into the issue.”
He urged the telcos to allow subscribers one year grace backed with adequate publicity before recycling SIMs.
He added, “By the time somebody stop using a line, you don’t even know if the person is dead, incapacitated or on the hospital bed. Before recycling SIMs, telcos should give a time frame of one year and make public advert for the users to be aware.’’
In his contribution, a security risk management and intelligence executive, Kabiru Adamu, said that telcos should do proper documentation for new owners of SIM cards.
He said, “With our environment, recycling portends significant risk because there is no effort from the point of view of the vendor to document the difference between the previous owner and the new owner. As far as the service provider is concerned, the owners are the same. There is no change in ownership between the new owner and the old owner. This means that if there is any offence committed by the previous owner, the new owner is liable. There is no documentation to show that, this is when you started using the SIM. My advice to anyone who is about to procure a new SIM is instead of buying from the roadside vendors, go to the service providers and when you do, make sure it is documented. This means from the day you took possession of the SIM. It is also important that records are updated. I think the service providers can help by advertising the numbers to duly inform everyone before going ahead to recycle. They can also provide evidence of transfer to the new owner as done in other countries.”
SIMs shouldn’t be recycled, says lawyer
Also speaking, a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said that since lines were registered with the name and other details of subscribers, it should not be transferable.
He said, ‘’It is not right. The phone number should be personalised; ownership should not be duplicated. The line is registered with the name and particulars of a subscriber. It should not be transferable.”
On whether threats from previous owners of SIMs should be taken seriously, he said, “The threat is baseless if truly the new owner knows nothing about the disappearance or death of the previous owner in the case cited. I don’t think he should be afraid. But on the other hand, it is not difficult to ascertain whether there is a connection between the date of the person and the line because the circumstances of death will be relevant.
“Of course, there is a place for circumstantial evidence in law but what the law says is that the evidence has to be direct. It has to be cogent. It has to be unequivocal and it must lead to the irresistible conclusion that the offence was committed by the defendant. So, if the case of the family is based on mere suspicion that is not enough to warrant criminal prosecution. The prosecution cannot be done on the basis of mere suspicion.
“It is left for the telco to take responsibility for that. Before any person is registered or before a line is sold to any person, the particulars of that person will be obtained; the name, photograph and address and so on, that’s to ensure that this kind of situation does not arise.”
On whether such a subscriber can sue the operator, he said, “If the person is arrested on account of a line sold to another person, that may be actionable against the service provider that sold the line to him.”
We don’t support line recycling, say police
The Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said that the Nigeria Police Force was not in support of recycling SIMs.
Adejobi explained that a SIM could be under investigation, calling on the operators to always liaise with the police before recycling lines.
He said, “We don’t subscribe to recycling of SIMs prematurely most especially when the SIM is under investigation or subject to investigation. Service providers should always contact the police for clarifications before any recycling could be done. All concerned ministries, departments and agencies should have a round table conference or summit on it to fine-tune a way forward.”
“SIMs belong to operators’’
In his view, President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, stated that lines were owned by the operators, adding that they have the right to recycle when not in use after some period.
He added that in cases where new subscribers were receiving threats or facing harassment from former SIM owners they should report the case to the NCC.
Ogunbanjo said, “Once you buy a new SIM, read the instructions on the pack. They are important. The moment you are inactive for three months, you’ll be given extra months; once it is four months and you fail to recharge at least N100 or make a call in 90 days, it simply means you’re not using that line. Recharge or make a call. Once you do not use a line for between three to four months, the onus is on the operator to reconvert their line. Technically, the SIM belongs to the operators. “You don’t scrap the SIM; it’s an international thing. That is what operates in all countries. Nigeria cannot be different. Once that is done you’re safe.”
Ogunbanjo blamed the NCC for the experiences of Towolawi and Oluwatosin.
He said, “In their cases, the faults belong to the operators. The network providers are not effective on that; no due diligence. The regulator and the NCC should come in. I advise them to take the matter to the NCC. We can take it up if they contacted the operator and the response is not satisfactory.’’
The Nepal experience
In a report published on www.nepalitelecom.com on August 25, 2020, the Nepal Telecom Authority instructed the mobile service providers to recycle unused SIM cards only after one year of being inactive.
The report indicated that the decision was taken to minimise the security risks attached to recycling of SIM cards.
“Now with the new instruction, mobile service providers will be able to issue a new SIM of the same number only after one year of deactivation. Earlier, the telcos have been cancelling the SIM in six months. But now, it has been given an additional period of six months to minimise the security risk, which is called the ‘cooling period’ otherwise called the security period. So the SIM will deactivate after the six months of crossing the validity period but telcos can only reissue after one year of that period, “the report partly read.
Another reason cited for the decision in the report was complaints from bankers in the country. It noted that the authorities issued the directive in the public interest since the banks were also concerned about the risks associated with mobile banking.
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