“Grace Period is Over”: NCC Sends Important Message as MTN, Airtel, Others Begin Blocking Lines
- Approximately 66 million phone lines are set to be disconnected countrywide by telecom operators
- This is an attempt to meet the mandate of the federal government concerning linking the NIN and SIM cards
- The development occurred following several extensions and warnings to Nigerians to link the lines with NIN
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Telecom providers have started disconnecting about 66 million phone lines nationwide in an effort to comply with the federal government's mandate regarding the National Identification Number (NIN)-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) linkage.
Source: Getty Images
This step was taken following several extensions and alerts to Nigerians to adhere to the policy intended to enhance national security and expedite the identification process.
Recall that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showed that as of March 2024, 153 million of the 219 million active lines across mobile networks like MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9mobile were already connected to NIN. This indicates that about 66 million phone lines are being disconnected.
There were major nationwide interruptions between July 28 and 29, when millions of lines were momentarily disconnected due to unverified NINs.
Lola Adekunle told Legit.ng how her sim card was suddenly blocked from making calls and a lot of activities were disruoted as a result.
She said,
"I just woke up one morning and realised that I couldn't make calls to anyone. my line was blocked despite that I had registered my sim"
Like Lola, several other Nigerians compalined that their lines were suddenly blocked in spite of registering their lines.
Telecoms blocks sims
MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa canceled 13.5 million lines for violating the NIN-SIM connection directive, according to financial statistics from the first half of 2024.
Airtel said that 8.7 million of its custoners had completed verification, whereas MTN claimed to have blocked 8.6 million lines.
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In order to prevent being permanently disconnected, impacted consumers are advised by telecom companies like as MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile, to link their NIN.
In order to complete the procedure, subscribers whose lines have been deactivated can still reconnect by going to any of the telecom companies' service centers or NIMC offices.
Leadership reported that originally released by the NCC in partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the directive requires all Nigerian mobile phone customers to connect their SIM cards to their individual NINs.
How NCC reacts
Confirming the disconnections, an NCC representative said that non-compliant lines would not be allowed to use mobile data services, send messages, or make calls until the linking process was finished.
“We will disconnect anyone who refuses to comply; the grace period is over. The reason why we extended the last time was the misconception of Nigerians who claimed that the NCC wanted to frustrate the August 1 protest.”
In support of the NIN-SIM connection, he said that it is essential to national security and that the goal of the policy is to establish a central database that can be used to monitor criminal activities, confirm identity, and improve digital financial inclusion.
“Unregistered and unlinked SIMs have been identified as tools frequently used in the perpetration of criminal activities such as kidnapping, terrorism, and financial fraud. The NIN-SIM linkage is an essential step in safeguarding the nation and ensuring the integrity of our telecom infrastructure,” he added.
Nigerians to pay to obtain multipurpose national ID
Legit.ng reported that the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Abisoye Odusote, has revealed that Nigerians will pay more to obtain the new general multipurpose national identity (NIN) card via financial institutions.
In Abuja, she disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists on Friday, May 9, 2024.
She said that the NIN is free, but the card is not, as users will pay a token to access the multipurpose card within 48 hours.
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Source: Legit.ng
