The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated telecommunication operators to immediately reconnect all phone lines that were blocked as part of the NIN-SIM verification process.
The NCC issued this directive in a statement on Monday.
Over the weekend, many Nigerians faced disruptions in accessing their phone lines due to their “inability to verify” the linkage between their national identification numbers (NINs) and their subscriber identification modules (SIMs).
As a result, telecom service providers blocked these numbers in compliance with the country’s NIN-SIM linkage policy.
This policy, initiated in December 2020, required telecommunication companies to disable unregistered SIM cards and those not linked to NINs.
Although the NCC has extended the deadline multiple times since December 2023, the most recent deadline for barring subscribers with up to four SIMs and unverified NIN details was set for April 15, 2024.
However, this deadline was later extended to July 31, 2024, to provide consumers more time to verify their NIN details. Despite these extensions, many phone lines still lack verified NIN links, as noted in the commission’s statement on Monday.
“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 NCC said.
“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 NCC urged members of the public who are yet to verify their SIMs to do so “as soon as possible to maintain access to their lines”.
(The Cable NG)
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