THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has no intention of asking Nigerians to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their phones from July, 2021.
The NCC, in a statement signed by Director of Public Affairs Ikechukwu Adindu, stated that the commission did not issue a release regarding the registration of IMEI by subscribers and it had no plans to do so.
The ICIR had earlier reported the Revised National Identity Policy report for sim card registration, which contained the directives.
The commission, however, stated that it was in the the process of deploying a Device Management System (DMS) to eliminate fake devices and protect subscribers against phone theft.
“The system will capture IMEI automatically without any requirement for subscribers to submit same,” the statement further said.
The commission advised the general public to disregard the publications which raised the alarm and created the erroneous impression that telephone subscribers would be required to register their IMEI with their networks.
'Niyi worked with The ICIR as an Investigative Reporter and Fact-checker from 2020 till September 2022. You can shoot him an email via [email protected]. You can as well follow him on Twitter via @niyi_oyedeji.