Abuja, July 30, 2024 – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered immediate reactivation of SIMs that were barred during the NIN-SIM verification exercise.
The NCC announced the reactivation of all SIMs 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
It, however, said the reactivation of the affected SIMs would be for a limited period to allow them to be properly linked to NIN.
NCC said it observed that many subscribers/consumers were unable to access their phone lines because of their inability to verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs).
“This meant that their numbers were blocked by their telecom service providers in keeping with laws and policies of the NIN-SIM linkage.”
It 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 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.
“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,” it said.
NCC said that in reviewing the directive, it considered the challenges the blockages might have caused the consumers since “the consumer is our priority.”
It 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. (GBN)
