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NIN-SIM Policy: Telcos Lost 12m Internet Subscribers In 2021 — NCC

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says telecommunications companies lost a total of 12 million internet subscribers in 2021 due to the national identification number (NIN) linkage policy.

In its latest report titled, ‘2021 subscriber/network data annual report’, the commission also said a total of nine million active voice subscribers were lost between 2020 and 2021.

This, according to the report, was due to the directive to suspend the sales and registration of new SIMs across the country.

In December 2020, NCC had given telecommunications companies a two-week ultimatum to block SIM cards not registered with National Identification Number (NIN).

The federal government later extended the deadline from December 2020 to January 2021 to enable subscribers with NIN link it up; while those without NIN had till February 9, 2021.

The NCC report said subscriber number decreased from 204,601,313 subscribers in 2020 to 195,463,898 active voice subscriptions as at December 2021 “with a loss of 9,137,415 subscriptions”.

“This represents about 4.46 percent decline in total subscription within the period under consideration,” it added.

“The decrease in operators’ subscriber base was attributed majorly to the effect of the directive from NCC in December 2020 to all GSM operators to suspend the sale and registration of new SIMS, SIM swaps and all porting activities.

“The objective of the audit exercise was to verify and ensure compliance by mobile network operators with the set quality standards and requirements of SIM card registration as issued by the federal ministry of communications and digital economy and the commission.”

NCC also the number of internet subscribers decreased by 12 million.

“Nigeria’s teledensity decreased from 107.18 percent as at December 2020 to 102.40 percent by December 31 2021,” the report said.

“The number of internet subscribers decreased from 154,301,195 subscriptions as at December 2020 to 141,971,560 subscriptions as at December 2021 representing a decline of 8 percent.”

In the period under review, the commission said broadband penetration also decreased from 45.02 percent as at December 2020 to 40.88 percent as at December, 2021.

Similarly, broadband subscriptions decreased from 85,941,222 subscriptions in December 2020 to 78,041,883 subscriptions as at December 2021.

On the level of data usage, the NCC said: “There was an increase in the volume of data consumed in the year-end December 2021 when compared with the year ended December 2020”.

“The total volume of data consumed by subscribers increased to 353,118.89 terabytes as at December 2021 from 209,917.40TB as at December 2020. This represents an increase of 68.2 percent in data consumption within the period.”

It added that the telecoms industry contribution to the gross domestic products (GDP) was 12.45 percent in the fourth quarter (Q4), 2020 compared to 12.61 percent in Q4 of 2021.

BIG STORY

“Twin Warrior”: Paul Okoye Accuses Peter Of Song Theft, Vows To Release ‘Original Version’

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Paul ‘Rudeboy’ Okoye, the Nigerian singer, has accused Peter ‘Mr P’ Okoye, his twin brother, of alleged intellectual property theft.

Mr P recently released the single ‘Winning’ — just a few months after the brothers confirmed that Psquare, their shared music group, was no longer active.

However, in a recent Instagram post, Rudeboy claimed that the song was his, stating that it was meant to feature on his upcoming album. He further alleged that the producer hijacked the track.

“Written and sang by Rudeboy. Produced by same producer. Now how come? Now am I supposed to release another version? Mr Producer, your case is for another day,” he wrote.

“Just a simple thing, bring 6 songs, let me bring 6 songs. I submitted 6 songs to the so-called management. Why re-singing my own song? word for word. Song that was supposed to be in my album next year June.”

In another post, the singer vowed to release “original versions of any copied songs,” adding that “the days of manipulation are over.”

“The days of manipulation are over. And to the management, make I hear any song wey na only me sing, I go release the original version. Oloriburuku! Music is not that hard,” he wrote.

Psquare split in 2017 following a feud between Peter Okoye and Paul. Though they reunited in November 2021, their reconciliation was short-lived.

Paul recently revealed another fallout, accusing Peter of orchestrating his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Peter, however, denied the allegations and accused Jude Okoye, their older brother, of diverting millions of dollars from their joint account into a secret company.

Paul also expressed frustration over his past role in the music group. He claimed to have done most of the work while others benefited.

Mr P has yet to respond to his brother’s recent allegations.

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US Court Sends British-Nigerian To Seven Years In Jail Over $5m Cyber Fraud

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Oludayo Adeagbo, a British-Nigerian, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

According to the US Department of Justice, Adeagbo, who also goes by John Edwards and John Dayo, conspired with others to steal over $3 million from various entities in Texas, including local government bodies, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

The case began in August 2022 when Adeagbo and two other Nigerian citizens, Donald Echeazu, 42, and Olabanji Egbinola, 44, were extradited from the United Kingdom (UK), where they had been residing, to face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The US Department of Justice stated that the offences were committed in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty in two cases against him in North Carolina and Texas for participating in a business email compromise scheme, which is also referred to as a “cyber-enabled financial fraud” scheme.

A business email compromise scheme can be initiated by scammers creating fake accounts that mimic companies a business regularly deals with.

Court records revealed that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators gathered information about significant construction projects across the United States, including a multi-million-dollar project at a university in North Carolina.

“To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company,” the Department of Justice said.

“Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the university to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators.”

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators employed the same tactics in Texas, targeting local government entities and universities by impersonating construction companies. They stole over $3 million from the scheme, bringing their total haul to $5 million.

Adeagbo has been ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution and will serve seven years in prison.

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Nigerian-American Oye Owolewa Re-Elected To US Congress

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Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American Democrat, has been re-elected as the shadow representative for the District of Columbia (DC).

Owolewa, a PhD graduate from Northeastern University in Boston, made history in November 2020 when he became the first Nigerian-American elected to Congress.

He secured 164,026 votes, or 82.84 percent of the total votes cast in DC.

His role, while not officially recognized by the US government as a full member of Congress, is to advocate for the district’s interests, particularly its bid for statehood.

On Thursday, Owolewa expressed his gratitude to DC voters via a post on X, thanking them for their continued support.

“Thank you DC again for giving me chance to serve. I also want to thank the organizations that have supported, partnered with and endorsed me,” he wrote.

While shadow representatives like Owolewa do not have voting power in the US House of Representatives, they play a key role in pushing for recognition and state-level advocacy for DC residents, who are otherwise disenfranchised at the federal level.

Owolewa has consistently championed the cause of DC statehood, which has become a central focus of his work.

The re-election took place on November 5, the same day as the US presidential election.

In that election, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris, securing over 270 electoral votes to win a second term.

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