Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated telecom operators to reactivate all lines barred during the weekend over non-linkage of their National Identification Numbers (NINs) and Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) as instructed by the federal government.
The directive follows series of complaints by telecom subscribers whose lines were barred and disconnected from their network services.
According to a statement released today from the NCC, and signed by the Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka, the Commission acknowledged that the affected subscribers were unable to access their phone lines because of their inability to verify their NINs with their SIMs. “This meant that their numbers were blocked by their telecom service providers in keeping with laws and policies of the NIN-SIM linkage.
“The consumer is our priority, therefore, considering the challenges the blockages have caused, the Commission has directed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend in view of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs. Reactivated consumers are to note that this is for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NIN to their SIM,” the statement read.
The Commission further implored members of the public who are yet to verify their SIMs to do so as soon as possible to maintain access to their lines.
It will be recalled that the compulsory linkage of NIN with SIM began in December 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to bar unregistered SIM cards and SIMs that were not linked to NIN.
Since December 2023, the Commission has reviewed the deadline a few times. April 15, 2024 was set as the deadline for the full network barring of subscribers with four or fewer SIMs that had unverified NIN details. This deadline was then reviewed to July 31, 2024 to give consumers more time to ensure their submitted NIN details are properly verified. Despite these extensions, many phone lines are yet to be linked with verified NINs.
However, many of the subscribers insist that their SIMs had earlier been linked to their NIN, with verification from their network providers.
Industry watchdog, the Association of Licenced Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) had also lent its voice in the call for subscribers to check the status of their NIN-SIM link, running a campaign that details the steps to the linkage.
The objectives of this exercise by the Federal Government of Nigeria include enhancing national security and ensuring the national SIM ownership database is accurate. The NIN-SIM linkage policy aids in verifying and protecting users’ identities, while also providing a critical infrastructure that assures access to the benefits of a robust digital economy for the citizenry.
