SIM Registration: MTN’s “Very Slow” Response Contributed To High Boko Haram Casualties, Buhari Reveals

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said that the slow response of MTN Nigeria to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s directive to service providers to register subscribers on their network contributed to the killing of at least 10, 000 innocent Nigerians by Boko Haram Terrorists.
President Buhari made the disclosure during a joint press conference after holding closed door meeting with South African President, Jacob Zuma at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Zuma is on two-day official visit to Nigeria.
The NCC imposed a N780 billion fine on MTN Nigeria last year October for failing to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards from its network.
The telecommunications firm sued the federal government over the fine but later withdrew the case after making a part-payment of N50 billion while exploring an amicable resolution to the matter.
But the president said the concern of the Federal Government was purely security and not the fine imposed on MTN.
Fielding questions from reporters on Tuesday, Buhari said: “This is the first time I will be personally as a president making a public comment about it. The concern of the federal government is basically on the security and not the fine imposed on MTN.
“You know how the unregistered GSM are being used by terrorists. And between 2009 and today, at least 10,000 Nigerians were killed by Boko Haram”.
“That was why NCC asked MTN, Glo and the rest of them to register GSM. Unfortunately, MTN was very, very slow and contributed to the casualties”, he added.