Sim card recycling: How you fit avoid kasala wen you buy new sim

Many Nigerians don dey share bad experiences of wetin happun to dem afta dem buy and register new sim cards for di kontri.

But for all di stories wey pipo don share for social media, perhaps di one wey vex pipo more na di tori of Titilayo Ibrahim, wey narrate to di BBC News Yoruba how she chop arrest and spend long time for detention simply bicos she buy new sim card.

Titlayo Ibrahim na young lady wey dey hustle for hersef dey do her business using social media to promote wetin she dey sell, and she buy and register new airtel sim card for April 2025 wey she put for her internet Mifi.

However, she no know say wetin she buy na recycled sim card, wey kidnappers bin don use do operation wia dem collect 50 million ransom and still kpai di victim.

As police dey track di number, dem use one undercover policewoman wey form like say she wan buy somtin from Titilayo hand, and na so dem arrest am, kon sama am accuse of kidnapping and murder.

E take long period of detention and legal wakawaka bifor Titilayo and her lawyer fit prove say she dey innocent, and even afta dat, police no release her immediately until afta some days.

Anoda young woman also narrate for X how afta she buy and register new MTN sim, she immediately start to dey receive alerts of big money from one bank wey she no even get account wit.

Even afta she complain to both her bank and di bank wey dey send her di alert, di experience no stop.

So, how dis kain tin even dey possible and wetin you fit do for such situation?

Wetin be 'recycled sim'?

Recycled sim card na sim card wey anoda pesin bin don use and later abandon, and afta some time di telecommunications company go wipe di data for dat sim card and repackage dat number again as new phone number.

According to one lawyer, Abimbola Orogade, wey based for Ibadan, Oyo State, dis practice no dey illegal bicos e dey approved by di National Communication Commission (NCC).

Also, according to wetin one MTN tok-tok pesin tok, "mobile numbers no be permanent property of di owner. Di NCC permit all GSM operators to recycle lines wey don dey inactive for 360 days".

"Dis inactivity include no calls, no SMS, no data subscription or any revenue‑generating activity on top di phone line. WhatsApp calls using Wifi no follow."

Afta dis period, di operator fit reassign dat inactive line to a new customer. So, if di former owner of di sim card bin no remove di number for activities wey e bin don use am do bifor, di new owner fit start to dey receive information and calls wey e no know anytin about.

Wetin to do

First, if for some reason you no longer wan use phone line wey bin don dey assigned to you bifor, you suppose inform di relevant authorities and remove dat line from all activities wey you bin don use am for, like bank alerts, govment databases, official documents, etc.

Bicos if di mobile operator recycle dat line, dia only responsibility na to wipe your personal details for di line, like your National Identity Number, your date of birth and oda biometric data.

No be dia job to contact your bank for example, to tell dem to remove di number from your account. Na you suppose do dat one.

However, if na you wan buy new sim card, e no get how you wan know weda dat sim na recycled or not, so e go hard for you to say you wan avoid buying recycled sim.

But as soon as you don buy di sim, make sure say you register am wit di mobile operator by yoursef and provide accurate data about yoursef.

Also crosscheck wit di operator to make sure say no order pesin data dey connected to dat phone line except only you.

To check di NIN wey dey attached to your number, you fit dial *996# and select di option to view phone number wey dey associated wit your NIN, you go get text message wey go show you.

You fit also visit di office of di mobile operator and make di enquiry by yoursef.

And if you dey receive strange calls, texts and oda information wey you suspect say e fit be for di previous owner of di phone line, go to di office of di mobile operator and make official complain, dem go know how to make sure say you dey protected.

As for Titilayo Ibrahim wey we take start dis tori, she later regain freedom from police custody afta dem confam say she buy di sim more dan one year afta di jaguda pipo bin don use am do kidnapping operation.

"We actually go to di Airtel office and dia record show say I buy di sim card on April 15, 2025, one year and three months afta di kidnapping and murder incident wey bin happun for January 2024," she tell BBC News Yoruba.

Barr Orogade tok say Titilayo fit sue di Nigeria Police for detaining her illegally, although e fit take years bifor court go give judgment.

"But if she get di moni to fit afford good lawyer, I go advise her make she go to court, I believe say she go win," Orogade tok.