THE Federal Government has threatened to sanction telecoms outfits operating in the country over alleged maltreatment to Nigerians, especially the women in the operators’ desperate bid to enforce compliance with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s directive on the registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) in use.
Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, who stated this in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media to the Minister, Mr Victor Oluwadamilare, said the move has become necessary, following the barage of compliant by telecoms subscribers across the country.
He therefore, threatened to deal with erring companies henceforth.
According to some of the complaints, “women in pudah dresses were required to remove their veil in public despite the requests by such women that a place should be provided out of public glare for only female officials to attend to them, adding that all entreaties fialed but rather they were allegedly acused of being Boko Haram agents and they were refused registration after several altercations that ensued in some of the registration centres.”
Shittu, who frowned at the development, urged the telecommunications companies invovled to accord respects to Nigerian, particularly women by respecting their feminine nature and religious disposition.
He said this has also become important moreso since the Nigerian Constitution has guaranteed the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion of all citizens and that such right can never be violated by executive or administrative lawlessness, highandedness and insensitivity.
The Minister noted that Nigerians deserve unreserved apologies from the concerned telecoms companies, saying that it is inhuman and unacceptable to treat Nigerians in a cruel manner, as it is a universal maxim that the right of even minorities are respected worldwide.
He, subsequently, urged the telecommunications companies to train and retrain their workers of thd rights and more civilized ways of treating their customers, adding that sanction may be applied against any erring company that refuse to complt with the policy of the Nigerian Government under tge Change Agenda” of President Muhammad u Buhari.