Victor EzejaThe Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered telecommunications operators to reactivate all telephone lines that were barred because of their inability to verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs).
Prime Business Africa reports that many telephone lines across telecom networks in Nigeria were barred during the weekend over failure to link the lines with NINs.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe incident threw many affected people into frustration as they stormed telecommunications stores across Nigeria to resolve the problem and have their telephone lines active again.
The action was in compliance with NCC’s 31st July 2024 deadline for SIM-NIN linkage.
READ ALSO: 40 Million Telephone Lines Barred Over SIM-NIM Linkage Failure – ALTON
Prime Business Africa recalls that the NCC had in December 2020 ordered compulsory linkage of NIN with SIM when the federal government directed telecommunication companies to bar unregistered and SIMs that were not linked to NIN.
The NCC said the action was part of efforts to enhance security in the country.
Since December 2023, the Commission has since reviewed the deadline for some time.
Prime Business Africa had reported that the telecom regulator had set 15th April 2024 as the deadline for the full network barring of subscribers with SIMs that had unverified NIN details.
It later shifted the deadline to 31st July 2024, to give consumers more time to ensure that their submitted NIN details were properly verified.
Following the frustration of affected telecom subscribers, the NCC decided to again extend the deadline, thereby ordering telecom operators to reactivate disconnected lines.
In a statement released on Monday, 29th July, signed by NCC Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the Commission said it realised that despite these extensions, a lot of lines were yet to be linked with verified NINs.
READ ALSO: NIMC, NCC Join Forces To Enhance NIN-SIM Linkage Processes
Part of the statement read: “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.”
NCC said it prioritises the consumers and considering the challenges the blockages have caused them, “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.”
It however, pointed out that the reactivation of the lines will be for a limited time to allow consumers to properly link their NIN to their SIMs.
The Commission advised telecom subscribers who are yet to verify their SIMs to do so as soon as possible to maintain access to their lines.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
Follow Us