Leading Civil Rights Advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Mr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami for arbitrarily directing telecommunications companies to compel their over 100 million subscribers to return for another round of verification and re-registration so as to present their National Identity Card numbers or lose their lines within 14 days this December. HURIWA describes this directive by the Communications and Digital Economy Minister as grotesque and an irregular attempt at causing massive catastrophic health emergency of unimaginable dimension.
Against the backdrop of this unscientific and risky directive done in a military fashion, the Rights group said the National Assembly and the citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should resist this coercive and arbitrary directive which will inevitably threaten the enjoyment of all the Constitutionally protected and guaranteed fundamental freedoms and human rights of Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria including the Right to life (section 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria given that the demand on over one hundred million subscribers to return for another round of verification and registration with a presentation of the so called National Identity Card numbers will expose Nigerians to the much talked about and much dreaded second wave of the CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC which according to medical experts is much more virulent and devastating.
“It is unbelievable that a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be so callous, capricious crude and tendentious by issuing a public directive on another round of SIM CARDS REGISTRATION at a time that the World over, nations are adopting and taking scientific, medical and precautionary measures to stave off the dreaded and grave consequences of the second wave of the Covid-19 PANDEMIC with stricter enforcement of the World Health Organisation’s Protocols such as wearing of face mask and social distancing.”
“How will any rational thinking and sensitively responsible public official give such a primitive, wicked and lawless instruction which goes contrary to the Quarantine Act of 1926 which was invoked by President Muhammadu Buhari over 8 months ago since the emergence of the global pandemic of COVID-19 that has killed several millions of members of the human race? Does the Nigerian minister of Communication plan to generate mass suicide by Covid-19? Why compel millions of subscribers to return for re-registration with the so- called National Identification Number within two weeks even when virtually all the subscribers had on three occasions be compelled to produce either international passports, driver’s licence or National Identity Card numbers? Is the National Identity Card number higher in status than the Valid international passports that most Nigerians presented whilst registering their SIM CARDS at the point of procurement? This insensitive, irresponsible and dangerous directive at this time of the second wave of COVID-19 must be resisted by all Nigerians”.
HURIWA recalled that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy had issued the following statement: “Following the earlier directive on the suspension of new SIM registration by network operators, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) convened an urgent meeting of key stakeholders in the Communications industry on Monday, December 14, 2020.
The meeting had in attendance the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), as well as the CEOs and Management staff of all service providers in the industry.At the meeting, the need to consolidate the achievements of last year’s SIM registration audit and improve the performance and sanity of the sector was exhaustively discussed and all stakeholders agreed that urgent drastic measures have now become inevitable to improve the integrity and transparency of the SIM registration process.To this end, the following decisions were taken for immediate implementation by all Network Operators:i.Affirmation of the earlier directive to totally suspend registration of NEW SIMs by all operators.ii.Operators to require ALL their subscribers to provide valid National Identification Number (NIN) to update SIM registration records.iii.The submission of NIN by subscribers to take place within two weeks (from today December 16, 2020 and end by 30 December, 2020).iv.After the deadline, ALL SIMs without NINs are to be blocked from the networks.v.A Ministerial Task Force comprising the Minister and all the CEOs (among others) as members is to monitor compliance by all networks.vi.Violations of this directive will be met by stiff sanctions, including the possibility of withdrawal of operating license.The general public is hereby urged to ensure that their NINs are captured in their SIM registration data.All inconveniences which might be occasioned by this directive”.
HURIWA recalled that earlier in the year, the Presidential task Force on Covid-19 expressed alarm over second wave of COVID-19 by stating that it was disturbed by the wholesale disregard for its guidelines on the relaxation of the five-week lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States, the federal government raised the alarm about a potential spike in the spread of COVID-19 yesterday, warning that if that happens it would have no choice than to shut down the country.
HURIWA reminded the minister of Communications why his directives on re-registration of SIM CARDS that will spark off massive rush by over 100 million subscribers is a grace threat to the Right to life of Nigerians also recalled that the Nigerian Medical Association’s President, Prof. Innocent Ujah, who spoke against the background of the onset of the second wave of the pandemic in the country said steps must be taken to break the chain of community transmission of the virus for the country to combat the resurgence of the disease.
Also, HURIWA recalled that a renowned virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, however, blamed the discountenancing of health advisories by many Nigerians for the virus’ resurgence just as ahead of the Yuletide, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have issued travel advisories urging people to avoid non-essential travels.
HURIWA quoted the NMA President as saying thus: “It was predicted and it was expected that everyone should be prepared for it. If it was happening in other climes, other countries we will expect that it will also come to Nigeria. That is why we are preaching, appealing and advocating strict compliance with NCDC protocols.”
HURIWA then wondered how the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy will out of the Blues give such a primitive directive on SIM cards registration amidst the threats of COVID-19 infestations.
