Selling sim cards already linked with the National Identity Numbers (NIN) could implicate you if it is used to commit a crime, the federal government has warned.

The revelation was made as the federal government warned Nigerians against selling their sim cards, asserting that crimes committed with any SIM card would be traced for appropriate action.

Sounding the warning, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami said this has become necessary as 47.8 million Nigerians have linked their SIM cards with their NINs.

Dr Pantami after a review of the on-going NIN registration exercise with the Ministerial Task Force commended Nigerians for massively turning out for the exercise.

The Minister in a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, urged Nigerians to be mindful of the need to protect and secure their NINs and SIMs.

The Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force has reported significant progress in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise, the statement noted.

“So far a total of 47.8 million NINs have been collected by the mobile operators. At an average of 3 to 4 SIMs per subscriber, this means many millions will be linked up before the deadline in February 2021,” it added.

The report of the committee noted that the Minister expressed satisfaction with the achievement.

Adinde said the Federal Government expressed appreciation for the commitment demonstrated by all stakeholders and citizens and urged them to submit their NINs before 9th February, 2021 deadline.

The Minister urged the technical team to fast-track the processes so that the project is delivered soonest.

Adinde said:

“The Technical Committee drew attention to the App developed by FGN which allows subscribers to link up to a maximum of seven (7) SIMs to their NIN.

“The Minister concluded by reminding Nigerians to secure and protect their NINs, urging subscribers to desist from selling their NINs or allowing others to use their NINs for registration.

“For any action committed with the SIM good or bad it will be officially traced and attached to the NIN owner,” the Minister warned.