Nigeria - phone thefts

Nigeria: Curbing Cell Phone Theft Menace

Since the advent of the GSM technology in the country a little over seven years ago, the cell phone has become the closest personal and business companions of most Nigerians.

The mobile phone is a virtual office as some sophisticated ones could store sensitive data and have inbuilt devices that facilitate personal and official transactions without the hassles and risk of travelling. Such is the almost indispensability of the mobile phone to most Nigerians now that they feel incomplete, psychologically, socially and commercially, without it.

But the rate at which Nigerians lose their phones to thieves has become so alarming that it will be a matter of time before the gains of the GSM revolution are lost. The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 cases of stolen mobile phones occur every month in the country. The theft issue has turned Nigerians into people who replace their phones serially, sometimes every month or every quarter as opposed to the industrialized nations where statistics indicate that mobile phones are replaced every 18 months.

This is why we view the plan by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to curb this menace through its proposed handset anti-theft system as a welcome development.

Speaking at the at the 47th Consumer Parliament which held in Awka, Anambra State recently, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of NCC, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe said the system that would render any stolen mobile phone handset in the country useless, will come into operation before December this year. He said not only will stolen phones be rendered completely useless and unusable to the thieves, or whoever buys it from them, the system will completely bar any of such stolen phones from being used in any of the phone networks in Nigeria.

The handset anti-theft system, which was developed in collaboration with the mobile phone operators in the country, requires all the mobile operators, including GSM and CDMA networks, to link their data to the system such that once theft of any handset is reported, it will never work in any other network in the country.

The anti-theft system will work by barring the unique identification number assigned to all mobile phones at the time of manufacture called the international Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number on the network once a theft is reported. The network then registers the IMEI on a database called the Central Equipment Identification Registrar (CEIR). The CEIR is a shared database of lost or stolen phones kept by operators. Once network operators activate the CEIR, it will be impossible for a stolen handset to be used on any of the participating networks.

To be sure, the handset anti-theft system, when it becomes operational in December as promised by the NCC, will bring a huge sigh of relief to cell phone users in the country.

By this initiative, NCC is setting a good example to other regulators of social service providers in the country to go beyond the routine of their schedule of their duties and venture into areas that will really benefit the end users of their services/products.

The proposed handset anti-theft system, however, has several challenges to contend with. It is possible for an IMEI number to be changed or reprogrammed so that it can be used after it has been barred. Secondly, over 60 per cent of the phones used in the country are second hand and for the method to work, Nigerians must buy only phones that have the required identifying code.

To get around these challenges, subscribers must be encouraged to register their phones with their service providers for due registration of their IMEI numbers. Also, the National Assembly should pass a law that will make the changing or reprogramming of IMEIs in the country a punishable offence. The government should also put in place policies that will discourage the sale of second hand phones and ensure that only approved phones with the required IMEI codes are sold in the country.