Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Pantami also said that Nigeria currently produces a minimum of 200 million SIM cards and that the country has also begun manufacturing of smartphones. According to him “We came up with a policy that we wanted Nigeria to in the next two to three years, that a minimum of 60 to 70 per cent of what we need in the telecommunications sector, that they are going to be produced locally. We have started it. When this administration came on board, even SIM cards were imported to Nigeria but as it is today, the federal government has provided an enabling environment for the private sector and as it is today, we have the capacity to produce SIM cards not only for our consumption but for the entire African continent.
“We have the capacity to produce a minimum of 200 million SIMS annually. We have provided an enabling environment for the private sector to start the production of smartphones. Today in Nigeria, we are producing smartphones”, he stated. Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, Prof. Umar Dambatta who explained that every SIM card has the biometric and demographic data of the owner, said criminals are now finding it difficult to register their SIMS because they know they would be found out if they commit any crime.
According to him, it takes sometime to track kidnappers as they hardly use their own phones for negotiation of ransoms, but would instead use those of their victims. “When they do that, if we check the SIM card, it is the data of the victims that will come up. However, once they use the phones to make calls, we have the capacity to track with precision where such calls emanate from”, he stated.
