The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has decided to register the country's 120 million-plus active lines to create a database that is updated with information about new subscribers. However, several issues have stifled progress and now threaten the credibility of the proposed system altogether.

The database will contain each subscriber's biometric information and this, stakeholders believe, will go a long way to boost tech-enhanced security in the country.

The NCC has introduced a rule compelling new subscribers to register their lines - and even SIM cards in modems, Wi-Fi dongles and other communication devices are required to be registered.

However the data gathering process, spearheaded by the NCC through agents in collaboration with telcos, is being held back because of several challenges. These include the availability of preregistered lines, fake details, inconsistency in registration protocols for various networks, and the use of agents in the process.

In one instance ITWeb Africa observed that an agent used his own thumbprint for a 68-year old MTN subscriber whose fingerprints could not be digitally captured by the technology onsite.

Similar incidents involving fraudulent or inaccurate information supply have dogged the system and are believed to be a regular challenge for agents.

Seven out of ten SIM card merchants admitted that a good proportion of the data captured so far may not be true or useful.

The push for subscribers

Every month, NCC releases data that rates line performance on each operator's network and

ranks the companies according to subscriber numbers.

The desire for good publicity and more subscribers is resulting in those selling SIM cards to focus all their efforts on selling lines – even if it means bypassing the registration process.

"The guys that are registering subscribers are just interested in getting done with you and moving on to the next person which means they don't want to waste their time on being too nosy with the information you supplied. Do you know you can claim anything, give wrong info and they will register you without any form of verification? They don't ask for ID or anything whatsoever," Ojo Oluseun, an MTN subscriber told ITWeb Africa.

Prior to the recent clampdown on the sale of preregistered lines, it was possible, though slightly expensive, to purchase these lines casually from the roadside.

However, the seller's modus operandi has changed, largely as a result of arrests that have been made.

"Nobody will tell you that he is selling preregistered lines again because of the activities of law enforcement officers wearing plain clothes – but that does not mean they are no longer available. In fact, we've gone more advanced with them," claimed a SIM card merchant. Instead of selling just lines, he said, they sell them with mobile data subscription and/or any other package a prospective subscriber desires.

"You buy four lines for just N100 (less than $1) which means we can afford to set this up and sell to our premium clients who want data and other services," he said.

However, there is acknowledgement that these lines could be abused for criminal purposes and would not easily be tracked.

"Just we see in movies, criminals can procure such lines, use them for criminal purposes and would not be traced. Such lines can then be destroyed after use. But unlike the movies, such lines are much cheaper and easier to procure in Nigeria," Oluseun said.

Oluseun is supporting the NCC's call to telcos to request identification from would-be subscribers, because, as he explains, the present model cannot be relied on entirely to protect citizens from criminals.

"But you know that many people in the rural areas don't have means of identification which is why it could be very difficult to control this. But doing something (to ensure some form of identity verification) is better than doing nothing because we are really sitting on a time bomb since only dumb criminals will use the SIM cards they registered with their own details for criminal purposes since they can get clean (preregistered) ones just across the street. This is where we have unfortunately found ourselves in this country – the system can only catch extremely dumb criminals."