Less than twenty-four hours after the event, subscribers flooded the offices of the companies whose phone connections were stopped because their SIM cards weren’t linked to their National Identity Numbers. Our correspondent was informed that around three million phone lines across various mobile operators in the country were affected, according to a trustworthy source. It could be a little difficult to locate precisely because the number isn’t just from one cell provider. When all is said and done, the sum is incredibly high. The source, who pleaded to be nameless due to not having authorization to discuss the matter in public, calculated that there were nearly three million lines.
Reuben Muoka, the Director of Media and Public Affairs at the NCC, provided a statement on Monday in which he indicated that the decision to unblock the blocked phone lines was made in reaction to the widespread disruption and outcry from subscribers that the blocks had created. Due to a lack of NIN-SIM linkage compliance, several subscribers discovered on Sunday that they were unable to access their phone lines. As a result, their numbers were blocked.
Concerns about a possible communication interruption were raised by the telephone lines being disconnected at the same time as the planned statewide rallies on August 1.
Nevertheless, the telecoms and the industry regulator shot down the suggestion, saying that the disconnect was consistent with the data harmonisation initiative.
“Consumer satisfaction is our top priority. As a result, the commission has instructed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend due to the limited time available for customers to verify their NINs using their SIMs,” the NCC stated. “We understand the challenges the blockages have caused.”
To enable them to correctly link their NINs to their SIMs, it made clear that the reactivation was only temporary for the impacted customers. All subscribers who had not yet validated their SIMs were asked by the commission to do so right away in order to keep access to their services. Enforcing a precise SIM ownership database and improving national security were the goals of the December 2020 mandate for NINs to be linked with SIMs. Numerous lines are still unconfirmed even after multiple deadline extensions—the most recent one being extended to July 31, 2024.
The commission has examined the deadline several times since December 2023. The entire blocking of users with four or less SIMs that had unverified NIN information was originally scheduled to take effect on April 15, 2024.
To provide consumers with additional opportunity to confirm that the NIN details they gave were accurately verified, the deadline was extended to July 31, 2024. Even with these additions, a large number of phone lines have not yet been connected to confirmed NINs.
MTN Nigeria revealed in its earnings report for the year ended December 31, 2023, that it disconnected 4.2 million connections following the expiration of the deadline on February 28 for linking SIMs with NINs.
