The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, may have updated its telecom identity risk management policy, TIRMP, allowing a window of one year for an inactive phone line to be reassigned to a new subscriber.

The TIRMP platform is NCC’s way of developing a cross-sector platform to collect and share data on churned (recycled) phone numbers as well as numbers that have been flagged as having been used for fraudulent activities, as reported by other sector regulators.

A reliable source at the commission told Vanguard that the platform would help prevent the misuse of numbers when they change hands. The information on this platform will be made available to relevant stakeholders across various sectors.

Vanguard gathered authoritatively that the commission is putting plans in place to launch the updated policy framework by the 4th quarter of this year.

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The source said the new initiative aligned with the commission’s strategic vision plan, which aims not only to meet the quality-of-service expectations of telecom consumers but also address their quality of experience, involving every touchpoint they encountered within the telecommunications ecosystem; from onboarding processes, such as SIM registration, to offboarding, which is when they choose to leave a network.

The new guidelines states that when a phone number has not carried out any revenue-generating event, outgoing or incoming calls or SMS, charged USSD sessions, data use, or any activity on the line that generates income for the operator, for over 180 days, the MSISDN is deemed inactive.

If this inactivity continues for another 180 days, that is a total of 360 days, the line becomes eligible for churning, and recycling.

“The QoS Regulation and Business Rules 2024 provides that after 365 days without any Revenue Generating Event carried out on a line it can be churned by the operator,” the source said.

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What that means is that the Mobile Network Operators who have leased these lines from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, are free to reassign them by putting them back into the market.

The source added: “Numbering resources, such as telephone numbers and short codes, are the backbone of modern telecommunications. They are governed globally by the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, under Recommendation E.164, which ensures efficiency, and equitable access to numbers across borders.’’

The NCC stated that numbering resources were inherently scarce because each number must conform to a fixed length and format, yielding only a finite set of valid combinations.

Information on the commissions website states: “In Nigeria, the NCC, mandated by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, manages and allocates these critical resources on behalf of the federal government.

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‘’The NCC assigns number ranges to licensed operators and services (mobile, fixed, and special) in a manner that promotes fair competition, protects consumers, fosters innovation, and aligns with ITU standards and global best practices.

“The recycling of lines presents challenges, particularly when the previous owners of reassigned numbers still have those numbers linked to services they used before the numbers were recycled. It presents issues of security and integrity of phone number ownership.”

The new policy will reduce fraud risks and improve digital and financial services by enabling service providers to proactively detect and act, particularly to high-risk numbers, while updating their customer details where applicable.

“The NCC will host the platform and establish its regulatory and operational framework. We are currently working with the CBN, security agencies, and other key stakeholders, with a beta solution already being tested” an NCC source revealed to Vanguard.

The Incumbent Bishop of Nsukka Catholic Diocese, Most Rev Godfrey Igwebuike Onah any Catholic priest or religious leader found to have overtly or tacitly supported examination malpractice in Enugu State now stands the risk of losing his or her faculty to operate as a clergy or religious.

The Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, read the riot act while speaking to Vanguard in Owerri about how to make the nation’s education sector free from irregularities.

Onah said, “As a church, we want to contribute to making our society better. We cannot all complain that things are bad while we ourselves are doing evil things.

“If parents are not ready to allow us to train their children as Catholic students or pupils, they should enrol them elsewhere.

“The Catholic Church punishes, severely, all forms of abuse of minors and we regard examination malpractice or irregularity, perpetrated by anybody, working for the Church, priest, sister, brother or lay person, as an abuse of minors.”

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Quoting from the communique by the Enugu Catholic Bishop, Onah said: “The level of impunity with which various forms of examination irregularity are being perpetrated in our schools today has constrained us, the Catholic Bishops of the Dioceses in Enugu State, together with our close collaborators in the education sector to make this declaration.

“We wish to emphatically state that we have zero tolerance for any form of examination irregularity and will do everything within our reach to eradicate that evil from all our schools.

“Unfortunately, parents and guardians are known to be the main sources of the financial support with which this evil is successfully executed.

“We hereby remind and caution the parents and guardians of young people that their involvement in this evil negates the very essence of parenthood, as well as endangers and mars the future of their children or wards.

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“It is the usual practice of the West African Examination Council, WAEC, to punish severely any form of examination irregularity and, in the case of expo or examination malpractice, to seize the results of any school involved, either partly or entirely.

“To avoid making others suffer for an evil they did not commit, any student meddling with expo materials will be on the spot dismissed from our school and will not be allowed to finish the examination there.

“Any principal, head teacher, teacher and administrative staff of any Catholic schools that aid expo or any form of examination irregularity shall be made to understand that they are doing a disservice to humanity and have to vacate their position in the school immediately.

“Members of the clergy, religious men and women, who are directly involved in the management of our schools must know that the Church has mobilized them to ensure that very high standards are guaranteed in the operation and management of our schools.

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“Therefore, any priest or religious, involved overtly or tacitly, in the arrangement and/or implementation of any form of examination irregularity, will lose his or her faculty to operate as clergy or religious in our dioceses.

“We urge the State Ministry of Education to engage only men and women of integrity, who cherish excellence in character and learning, to provide services in the education sector, particularly in the conduct of examinations.

“We expect that those government staff, who betray the very essence of their profession by indulging in or aiding any form of examination irregularity, be adequately sanctioned.

“Let us all therefore, join to say ‘No’ to the darkness of evil and evil dealings that have plunged our society into suffering and pain.”

The Federal High Court of Nigeria has announced the death of its former Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Abutu.

The court, in a statement that was signed by its Chief Registrar, Mr. Sulaiman Amida Hassan, disclosed that the retired CJ died on June 3, after a brief illness.

Justice Abutu, who hailed from Kogi State, was born on March 15, 1946.

“The Late Chief Judge served the Court and the Nation with distinction.

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“He was known for his unwavering commitment to justice and administrative excellence. His leadership and contributions have left indelible marks on the Judiciary and the legal community at large.

“The Federal High Court extends her heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues, friends and all who were touched by his exemplary life and service.

“Further announcements would be made available in due Course. May his soul rest in perfect peace,” the statement further read.