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NCC steps up surveillance on illegal telecommunication operators

By BusinessNews Staff on July 20, 2014

Hard times now await all illegal providers of telecommunication services in the country as the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has stepped up monitoring and surveillance activities on those who contravene the law.

Already, NCC team led by Assistant Director (Enforcement), Mr. Salisu Abdu has sealed off TB telecommunication in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital over illegal operation.

Briefing newsmen shortly after inspection of some offices of telecommunication providers in the state, Abdu stressed that every provider of telecommunication services in Nigeria need to obtain the requisite license about the service they are to provide to guide against illegal business.

He said section 31 of the Nigerian Communication Act of 2003 provided that telecommunication services without a license sometimes attracts imprisonment, fine, or both as the case may be and warned Nigerians to be conversant with the law before going into the business.

Abdu explained that the premises of TB Links telecommunications and Security Systems Company was sealed off for allegedly providing illegal telecommunication services without obtaining the necessary license from the commission hence breaching the law .

“The NCC as you know is the independent regulator of telecommunication industry in Nigeria and one of its functions is issuance of telecommunication license and also monitoring and enforcing license terms and conditions.

“In one of our monitoring exercise in April, 2014, TB Links Telecommunications and security system limited and Mark 2 limited were detected to have been providing public mobile communication, vehicle tracking service illegally.

“One of the functions of NCC is monitoring the activity of operators in addition to surveillance exercise. So it was through surveillance exercise that we discovered that TB Links limited and Marc 2 are doing illegal operation of vehicle tracking.

“And we are here today (yesterday) in Uyo on enforcement exercise and at the end we visited TB links telecommunication and security system limited and we have traced them since morning, unfortunately we traced the office and there is nobody in the office and we expected that there is a leakage of our activity, so they refused to appear in the office.

“All the same we are able to seal the premises and we have already linked up with the Nigerian police for the purpose of investigation into the activity. So at the end of day, the police will take over the investigation of the company because basically it is a criminal offence by our law if they are found guilty definitely they will be prosecuted and a fine will be enforced against the company”.

[This Day]

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