The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered telecoms companies operating in the country to deactivate pre-registered SIM cards within seven days or be slammed with sanctions.

According to the NCC pre-registered SIM cards pose a threat to the safety of citizens because they are used by criminals across all networks to commit acts of terrorism, kidnapping and robbery.

The seven-day ultimatum was issued following a meeting in Abuja between the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Department of State Service (DSS), network operators and the NCC.

Representatives from operators including MTN, Globacom, Etisalat, Visafone and Airtel also attended.

A statement by Tony Ojobo, NCC director of public affairs, confirmed the ruling on all invalid/ improperly registered SIM cards – including those without properly captured facial pictures and/or fingerprints.

Ojobo added that the commission is going ahead with the deactivation process and affected subscribers are to be notified to "regularise their registrations", adding that all registrations must conform to the data dictionary, technical specifications on fingerprints, facial images, and the business rule agreed by all stakeholders.

The NCC says "operators will be held liable for cases of pre-registered SIMs, and that the earlier grace of 21 days has lapsed."

The statement also noted that 120 million SIM cards have been registered and transmitted to the central database by operators.