(Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian government has issued a 60-day ultimatum to major mobile operators, MTN and Orange, demanding updated subscriber information. This move, directed by Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji, aims to clamp down on the use of unregistered SIM cards for extortion and ransom demands. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in regions that have been grappling with socio-political crises and security problems since the end of October 2016.

About 450 unregistered SIM cards are reportedly in circulation within conflict zones, according to Minister Nji. He revealed that separatists in the country's Anglophone regions have collected over CFA320 million using such cards over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, kidnappers in the Far North and Adamawa regions have collected about CFA75 million. "This is an extremely serious situation. Mobile operators will not profit at the expense of Cameroon's security," Nji stated during a meeting on April 8, with representatives from Orange Cameroon, MTN Cameroon, and the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (Antic).

To address the issue, Nji has demanded the systematic identification of every SIM card sold in these regions, in line with existing regulations, emphasizing that at least twenty unregistered SIM cards are confiscated during each takedown of terrorist groups. "After using a card, its owner simply destroys it, making them untraceable especially since they were not identified," he explained, citing concerns about the ease with which individuals can avoid detection.

Furthermore, Nji has ordered Orange and MTN to provide a comprehensive list of their product sellers and Orange Money and Mobile Money kiosk operators in the Northwest and Southwest regions within the specified timeframe. He warned of "severe sanctions" should the companies fail to comply with this directive.

The Prime Minister's decree of December 3, 2015, mandates that operators must identify their subscribers and terminal equipment at the time of any electronic communications service subscription. The decree also limits individuals to owning no more than three SIM cards per operator. In July 2019, Orange, MTN, and Nexttel were fined a total of CFA3.5 billion by the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART) for "recurring failures" to implement this decree, including the pre-activation of SIM cards, street sales of SIM cards, individuals owning more than three SIM cards, and activating numbers without prior identification.