The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed telecommunication companies in the country to “immediately” reactivate all mobile lines disconnected over subscribers’ failure to link their National Identification Number (NIN) with their phone numbers.

This was contained in a statement issued by the NCC spokesperson, Reuben Muoka, on Monday, July 29, 2024.

Muoka noted that many telecom subscribers were unable to access their phone lines because of their inability to verify their NINs with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) over the weekend, saying this meant that their numbers were blocked by their telecom service providers in keeping with laws and policies of the NIN-SIM linkage.

He recalled that the compulsory linkage of NIN with SIM commenced in December 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to bar unregistered SIM cards and SIMs that were not linked to NIN.

The NCC spokesman said: “Since December 2023, the Commission has since 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.

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“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.

“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.”

Muoka, however, enjoined Nigerians who are yet to verify their SIMs to do so as soon as possible to maintain access to their lines.

The Star