Ghost numbers: The recycled SIMs haunting innocent Nigerians with criminal shadows

In an Akure police station, Ibrahim Mariam Titilayo, a 24-year-old NYSC corps member, found herself thrust into a nightmare she couldn’t have imagined.

On October 16, 2025, plainclothes officers from Abuja’s Force Intelligence Department (FID) burst into her life, seizing her iPhone 12 Pro Max, an Itel phone, and WiFi router. They accused her of ties to a January 2024 kidnapping and murder case, linking one of her Airtel SIMs, purchased just six months earlier, to the crime.

“I was terrified,” Titilayo recounted in a widely shared X post that garnered over 27,000 views.

“They dragged me to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, threatened to ship me to Abuja, and detained me overnight. All because of a recycled number?”

Titilayo’s ordeal, resolved only after activist Omoyele Sowore’s intervention and Airtel’s confirmation of the SIM’s clean activation date, is far from isolated.

Across Nigeria’s 222 million mobile connections, many tied to banking, identity verification, and daily survival, recycled SIM cards are emerging as a silent epidemic. These ghost numbers, reassigned from inactive lines, carry the digital baggage of their previous owners: fraud alerts, criminal probes, or even links to terror networks.

Victims, often young professionals or migrants, are left to prove their innocence in a system where one wrong number can unravel lives.

Another voice from the digital trenches is that of Anthony Okolie, whose 2020 detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) for 10 weeks remains a stark emblem of the crisis.

Okolie, a Delta State trader, had innocently activated an MTN SIM previously used by Hanan Buhari, daughter of former President Muhammadu Buhari. “I was labelled a criminal overnight,” he told Economic Confidential in a 2025 retrospective.

His story, amplified by publisher Omoyele Sowore on X, sparked national outrage but little systemic change.

Fast-forward to 2025, and similar tales flood social media. A Lagos forex trader shared on X how his new line triggered bank fraud alerts from a prior owner’s unpaid debts, freezing his accounts for weeks.

In Ibadan, a civil engineer lost N305,000 to scammers exploiting a recycled Airtel number tied to his BVN Bank Verification Number (BVN), only to face police questioning when the fraud was traced back.

These human stories underscore a deeper rot. In a nation where 70 percent of adults rely on mobile money for remittances and salaries, recycled SIMs aren’t just inconvenient; they are existential threats.

Titilayo’s release came after legal aid from Barrister Tope Temokun, but many lack such lifelines. “It is not just about money; it is about dignity. One recycled card, and you are a suspect in someone else’s crime,” she posted.

The Fuel: Economic Pressures and a Booming Black Market

What drives this shadowy trade? At its core is Nigeria’s explosive telecom growth, 207 million active SIMs against a finite pool of 282.94 million numbers allocated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Telecom giants like MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile recycle dormant lines after 180 days of inactivity to avoid number exhaustion and recoup annual numbering plan fees paid to the NCC, fees that make idle lines a financial drag.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), clarified that mobile subscribers do not actually own the SIM cards they use, noting that operators bear both the procurement and recurring costs for every registered line.

He added that telecom companies routinely recycle SIM cards to avoid number exhaustion and to cut the cost of producing and maintaining new ones. “SIM cards are reassigned to reduce the dormant subscribers, as telcos are profit-oriented organisations,” Adebayo added.

But the real accelerant is the underground economy. Roadside vendors hawk pre-registered or recycled SIMs for as little as N200, often using falsified NINs to bypass mandatory linking rules.

BusinessDay investigation revealed agents charging N1,000 to forge registrations, enabling fraudsters to evade justice in kidnappings and 419 scams.

Kaspersky Lab reports SIM-related frauds surging 40 percent year-over-year, fueled by economic desperation like youth unemployment at 53 percent and the ease of SIM swaps via bribed insiders.

Cyberfraudsters like Yahoo boys exploit this, using recycled lines to drain accounts via USSD codes or OTPs, with losses topping N6.5 billion in 2025 alone.

Worsening the blaze: Nigeria’s japa wave, over one million emigrants in 2024, leaves lines dormant abroad, ripe for recycling. Without activity, even NIN-linked SIMs deactivate after 12 months, per NCC rules.

Loopholes: A Regulatory Maze with Wide Gaps

The NCC’s framework, while sanctioning recycling to manage scarcity, is riddled with blind spots.

Findings showed that guidelines mandate deactivation after six months of no revenue activity but lack a grace period for severing old ties, no quarantine to block lingering OTPs or bank links.

There is no public registry of recycled numbers, and rules for purging prior NINs from recycled SIMs are inconsistently enforced, per 2024 NCC updates.

Enforcement falters too. While third-party registrations were banned in August 2025 to curb fraud, informal markets persist, with the NCC fining an operator N104 million for Kano infractions but struggling against 2.2 million bad SIMs nationwide.

Telecoms can reject suspicious subscribers but must report to NCC within 24 hours, a clause rarely invoked.

As tech analyst Jide Awe notes, “Vague rules leave millions vulnerable, with no audit trail for ownership history.”

These gaps amplify risks in a mobile-first economy: 80 percent of banking is USSD-based, per Central Bank data, making recycled numbers prime for digital kidnapping.

What the Gatekeepers Say: Deflection and Partial Accountability

Telecom operators tread lightly. Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN’s chief corporate services officer, earlier insisted, “We have zero tolerance for non-compliance and work only with NCC-licensed entities,” emphasising that numbers are federally owned and recycled per guidelines.

The NCC, under Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman, calls pre-registered SIMs a national cybersecurity threat, enabling fraud and money laundering, vowing intensified inspections and sanctions.

In a May 2025 advisory, it urged users to report dormant lines promptly, but critics like the Police decry premature recycling: “Contact us before reassigning lines under probe.” Still, with 95.7 million invalid registrations historically, enforcement feels reactive.

However, efforts to curb the alleged misuse of pre-registered SIM cards in Nigeria are ongoing. The telecommunications regulator has rolled out new measures to eliminate the sale and use of such cards.

To address the cybersecurity risk of pre-registered SIMs, the commission plans to step up field inspections, sanction operators found complicit, and deepen collaboration with security agencies and the NIMC.

The NCC says these actions will support a more transparent and accountable system for monitoring compliance, conducting investigations and imposing penalties.

Nigeria stands at a crossroads: Recycling is essential for a 222-million-subscriber market, but unchecked, it erodes trust in the digital economy projected to hit $88 billion by 2028.

Stakeholders have said, the path ahead demands bold, multi-stakeholder action.

“First, regulatory fortification: Extend the inactivity threshold to 12 months with a mandatory 90-day quarantine, blocking security-sensitive traffic (OTPs, USSD) during reassignment.

“Mandate a centralised NCC API for banks to flag recycled numbers, as proposed by Agaka, and enforce NIN purges via blockchain-like audit trails.

“Ban roadside sales outright, with digital-only issuance at verified centres. Operators must innovate: Roll out eSIMs, virtual, non-physical cards, as MTN pilots, reducing recycling needs and fraud vectors.

“Diaspora retention plans like MTN’s three-year ‘Keep My Number’ (N1,000/month) should be subsidised and auto-enrolled for emigrants.

“Telecoms and banks could co-develop AI fraud detectors, flagging anomalies like sudden USSD spikes on new activations.

“Public education is key: NCC-led campaigns via SMS and apps to warn of recycling risks, urging PIN-protected banking and prompt dormant-line blocks.

Law enforcement needs a SIM amnesty protocol, fast-track exoneration for verified new owners, as in Titilayo’s case.

“Finally, international lessons: Adopt the UK’s 30-day post-recycle cooling off or U.S. eSIM mandates to phase out physical vulnerabilities,” Awe advised.

Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, president of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), told BusinessDay that the growing misuse of pre-registered SIM cards is being fuelled not only by illicit operators but also by subscribers themselves.

Ogunbanjo said the problem has become rampant in the last two to three months, prompting him to personally investigate multiple SIM registration points after losing his own phone on September 18.

According to him, many Nigerians still patronise roadside agents rather than authorised SIM registration centres whenever they need to replace a lost card. “That is the major issue. The roadside people just want an advance payment. Some of them even use other people’s photographs and passports,” he said.

Ogunbanjo said he visited at least 12 locations across different parts of Lagos, posing as a customer seeking to retrieve his line. At several of these locations, agents offered to register a SIM for him using arbitrary or recycled personal details. “They will ask you, ‘Do you want your photograph?’ If you say no, they will still make it work. It does not matter whose details they use,” he said.

Ogunbanjo stressed that subscribers share significant blame for the persistence of the problem because many prefer the convenience of roadside agents to the longer formal processes at accredited outlets. He warned that SIMs bought or registered informally may not have been cleared from previous users, including those whose bank or identity details remain active on the line. “If you go to roadside, that SIM may not have been wiped. It is still reactive. Only the operators and the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) have the tools to properly clear and authenticate a SIM,” he said.

He argued that the solution must begin with massive public sensitisation and stricter enforcement targeting the informal registration agents. Many of these operators know what they are doing, but continue because there is little chance of being apprehended, he noted, adding that, “It is a criminal offence, and if they are caught, they should be arrested. People need to know there is a penalty. That is the only way roadside registration will stop.”

Ogunbanjo added that both the NCC and telecom operators must embark on a large-scale nationwide awareness campaign to educate subscribers on the risks of roadside SIM registration and the importance of using accredited centres. According to him, such campaigns should highlight the dangers of recycled personal data, the security implications for users, and the legal consequences for offenders.

He acknowledged, however, that a complete clampdown will also require telco-owned centres to have the capacity to absorb the heavy foot traffic that currently drives many Nigerians to roadside agents. Ogunbanjo urged operators and the NCC to consider training and formally accrediting independent registration personnel under stricter oversight, noting that their role is very vital if Nigeria is to eliminate the circulation of improperly registered SIM cards.

As INTERPOL’s 2025 Operation Red Card seized 1,000+ fraudulent SIMs across Africa, Nigeria must lead regionally.

The human cost is too high for half-measures. Titilayo, now back in Akure, sums it up: “My number shouldn’t be a trapdoor to someone else’s hell.”

“For Nigeria’s digital dreams to thrive, recycled SIMs must be reimagined, not as ghosts, but as guarded gateways. The NCC’s next move isn’t optional; it’s urgent,” Ogunbanjo added.

Royal Ibeh

Royal Ibeh is a senior journalist with years of experience reporting on Nigeria’s technology and health sectors. She currently covers the Technology and Health beats for BusinessDay newspaper, where she writes in-depth stories on digital innovation, telecom infrastructure, healthcare systems, and public health policies.