The Ministry of Communications said the FederalGovernment has blocked 2,277,311 improperly registered mobile telephone linesacross the country. They were among the 9.2 million lines which theauthorities said earlier in the month to be improperly registered. The ministry said 6,830,249 of the lines wererevalidated by September 25, the deadline of an ultimatum on theregularization of the lines. The deactivation of the lines followed a directiveissued to the Nigeria Communications Commission by the Minister ofCommunications, Isa Pantami. The Deputy Director Head Information Press and PRUnit of the ministry, Philomena Oshodin, said in a statement in Abuja that“Pantami has reiterated the need for all improperly registered SIM cards toremain blocked until they are properly registered. The minister directed that “the profiles of personslinked to crime, aided and abetted by the use of SIM cards, should be promptlyprovided to the relevant security agencies when requested and a copy is sent tohim for monitoring.”