The Nigerian Communications Commission has urged Nigerians to verify mobile phones with its device checker code, \*315#, before paying for them to avoid buying unapproved devices.
The commission said the check was particularly important for second-hand phones and devices imported from abroad.
The NCC’s Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Eduyemi Ogoh, gave the advice during an appearance on Newsnight on Arise Television.
He said buyers could also use the commission’s website to confirm whether a phone had received type approval and was verified for use on Nigerian networks.
Ogoh said, “Before you buy the phone, dial \*315# and confirm that the phone is fully verified before you pay.”
He explained that the initiative was part of the commission’s statutory responsibility under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 to protect consumers and address complaints about poor network services linked to mobile devices.
According to him, some phones sold to consumers may be fake, imitations or devices that do not function properly on Nigerian networks.
“The whole intent of \[type approval\] is to ensure that every device coming into the country is genuine and works the way it should work,” he said.
Ogoh added that unapproved or improperly functioning devices could contribute to poor service quality, affecting both their users and other subscribers within the same area.
He advised prospective buyers to obtain a phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity, known as IMEI, from the seller and use it to check the device before completing a purchase.
The IMEI is a unique number assigned to each mobile device and is required for the verification process.
However, Ogoh clarified that a device failing the check was not necessarily counterfeit.
He explained that type approval involved laboratory testing of a phone model to establish whether it met applicable standards and could operate properly on Nigerian networks.
Verification, he said, confirmed that an individual device had been registered on the NCC’s checker system using its IMEI.
“Type approval is done just once per model,” Ogoh said, adding that manufacturers, vendors or importers were responsible for obtaining the approval, rather than consumers.
The director said the enhanced compliance process applied to devices brought into Nigeria from October 7.
He disclosed that phones already operating on Nigerian networks at midnight on October 6 had been onboarded and verified by the commission.
According to him, about 231 million existing devices had been registered.
“We know that people have spent their money to do this, so you cannot be asking them to go and throw those phones out,” he said.
Ogoh also dismissed concerns that the checker could expose users’ private information.
He said the system used only the IMEI to verify devices and did not give the commission access to subscribers’ calls, contacts, messages or stored information.
He added that the verification process could help consumers identify whether poor network service was linked to an unapproved device.
The NCC advised consumers experiencing problems with the device checker to dial 315, while complaints relating to telecommunications services could be directed to its consumer complaint line on 622.
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