Telecom
Sale, Use Pre-registered SIM Cards Boom Despite Fines, Arrests

The unlawful sale and use of pre-registered of SIM cards has continued and is now hobbling the efforts to get the true identities of mobile phone users in Nigeria.
The sale or use of pre-registered of SIM card carries a fine or jail term or both, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
For a telecom company, each pre-registered SIM card attracts a penalty of N200,000 and for a user an imprisonment.
Despite the fine and arrests of some sellers in some parts of the country, the sale and use of pre-registered of SIM cards is still widespread.
In effect, criminally-minded people are utilising other peoples’ identities or fraudulent information to register and distribute SIM cards that are bought by innocent subscribers and criminally-minded ones for the purpose of committing fraud without being traced as the number they use do not bear their identities.
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman, NCC, said that Nigerians must stop selling pre-registered SIM cards because it is an act of illegality that undermines national security.
According to the NCC, rather than patronise the criminals who peddle pre-registered SIM cards, the public should report them to law enforcement agencies as part of their responsibility, not only as subscribers but also as good citizens.
Elsewhere, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, inspector general of police, described the sale and use of pre-registered SIM card as a severe threat to security sector and governance.
He said: “These criminal activities, including use of pre-registration subscriber identification module SIM cards should be of concern to all of us. As a law enforcement officer, it is my belief that in addressing these challenges, we must re-strategise on our noble programme of community policing across communities and give our communities greater stake in securing national assets.
But industry experts insisted that there is a need for NCC and the Mobile Network operators to step up education on pre-registered SIM to the populace.
In addition to what the NCC has done, experts confirmed that it is time for both service providers and the regulator (NCC) to collaborate and stop every person bent on derailing the registration process through the sale of pre-registered cards.
Chuks Arubalaeze, a telecom lawyer said that cards that have also been pre-registered by wrong persons also need to be identified and destroyed because when they fall into the wrong hands.
“The consequence could affect the process and have a devastating effect on National security” she added.
The sale of pre-registered SIM cards is unethical and fundamental crime. The implications of the sale of pre-registered SIM cards cannot be over emphasized, as innocent citizens could be wrongfully implicated due to the indiscriminate use of the pre-registered SIM cards arising from its sale to seasoned criminals and no good individuals, seeking to perpetuate one form of crime or the other.
Telecom
MTN Says New N6.98 USSD Charge Won’t Affect Airtime Recharge

Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief Enterprise business officer, MTN Nigeria, has assured the network subscribers that the new end-user billing system for the use of USSD services will jot affect them.
USSD, otherwise Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes are commonly used for banking transactions, airtime recharges, and other mobile services.
The telco said that there is no significant impact or change other than the fact that they will now pay the same N6.98 per session (120 seconds) with their airtime instead of direct bank debit.
Saint-Nwafor, said this during a chat with MTN MIP fellows, explaining that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered telecom operators to ensure that the new billing model resolves trust issues and ensures transparency in the billing process.
“Our regulator insisted that at the end of every month, we are going to be providing history and statistics on the performance of the service across the board”, she explained.
Saint-Nwafor added that the new billing model has standardized messaging across all operators and ensures consistent communication with customers.
“We will take all the error codes and map them into messages that are standardised across the board. So, if you initiate a transaction, you will know if it is failing. And, when the transaction fails, you will know if it is from your bank or the telco,” she explained.
Telecom
Crypto Scam Unmasked: U.S. Recovers Record $225m in Global Fraud Bust

The U.S. government has recovered $225 million in what is now the largest seizure of funds linked to a cryptocurrency investment scam.
In a statement released Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the recovery followed an extensive investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, using blockchain analysis and other forensic tools. The statement did not confirm whether any arrests had been made.
According to the authorities, the stolen funds originated from fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes that tricked victims into believing they were making legitimate investments. More than 400 individuals around the world, including dozens in the United States, were reportedly affected.
The operation involved a sophisticated money laundering network that carried out hundreds of thousands of blockchain transactions to obscure the source and ownership of the stolen assets.
“These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims,” said Shawn Bradstreet, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Secret Service office in San Francisco.
Bradstreet added that U.S. officials hope the recovered funds can eventually be returned to the rightful victims.
Cryptocurrency investment fraud accounted for over $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone, according to the statement.
Telecom
Nnaemeka Ani Calls on African Techies to Rewrite the Narrative

In a rousing declaration that is electrifying minds across the continent, Hon. Nnaemeka Ani, Special Adviser on ICT to Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has called for a homegrown digital revolution under the banner “Africa Will Rise: By Code, By Courage, By Us.”

Hon. Nnaemeka Ani
The message, part challenge, part philosophical—seeks to galvanize African innovators to move beyond buzzwords and build technology with impact and legacy in mind.
“Let’s stop building for hype. Let’s start building for legacy,” Ani urged while speaking to ICT journalists over the weekend. “Let’s stop waiting for someone else. Let’s start creating the future—on our own terms.”
At the heart of Ani’s vision is a shift from tech consumerism to tech authorship. With innovation hubs sprouting across cities like Enugu, Lagos, Kigali, Jo’Burg, and Nairobi, and a growing community of developers, engineers, and entrepreneurs determined to solve Africa’s unique challenges, the movement is already taking shape.
Ani emphasized that Africa’s future lies not in flashy apps or international admiration but in persistent, intentional solutions that uplift communities—solutions that digitize public services, bridge rural-urban divides, empower women and youth, and build resilience in food and climate systems.
“We have the talent,” he said. “Now it’s time to harness it—to stop building for likes and start building for lasting impact.”
With support from leaders like Ani and rising momentum in Africa’s tech corridors, it seems that a new chapter is being written—one line of code at a time.
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