End Unnecessarily Stressful SIM Replacement Process in Nigeria

End Unnecessarily Stressful SIM Replacement Process in Nigeria
Why Do They Stress Us? Why Not Use Our Biometrics?
Telecommunications companies in Nigeria, as a matter of necessity, take biometric data during every SIM card registration. Without this process, one’s new SIM card will not be ready for use. The finger prints and close shot passport sized photographs taken during the registration must be for a purpose, at least. They are used to track the card owner whenever a crime is committed with the SIM.
However, whenever a SIM card is lost with a phone, the owner is subjected to such time consuming and strenuous rituals as going for a sworn affidavit in the state high court, filling the details of the last date and amount of recharge, listing five frequently dialled numbers. Failing to supply all these, one’s desire for a SIM card replacement cannot materialise.
Simple as these requirements may seem at the superficial level, many Nigerians have suffered terrible losses because of inability to meet them. It is possible to forget the details of one’s last phone recharge as well as the most frequently dialled numbers in Nigeria because firstly, a typical Nigerian is compelled by circumstances to use two or three lines. Secondly, there are so many burdensome issues bothering the typical Nigerian that memorising such details may be impracticable. It is thus appropriate to demand that the telecommunications companies use the biometric data to verify the ownership claim made by anyone applying for SIM replacement.
It is high time GSM operators stopped subjecting their Nigerian customers to avoidable hassles. What does it cost the companies checking their archives to confirm the identities of applicants for SIM card replacements through the biometrics stored in their systems? Many Nigerians who have been denied SIM replacement have consequently lost the opportunities to receive bank alerts and carry out pertinent operations with other organisations with which they registered using the lost phone numbers.
Please, sign this petition to tell the Nigerian Communications Commission, the National Assembly and any other concerned parastatals to compel the communications companies to stop harassing legitimate SIM card replacement applicants with unnecessary demand for verification that can be obtained from the initial registration records.