Telecommunications companies have been ordered by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to re-establish all phone lines that were disconnected during the NIN-SIM verification procedure.
This directive was released by the NCC on Monday in a statement.
Many Nigerians experienced problems over the weekend using their phone lines because they were “unable to verify” the connection between their SIM cards and national identity numbers (NINs).
Telecom companies consequently blacklisted these numbers in accordance with the nation’s NIN-SIM linking policy.
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Telecommunications firms were obligated by this policy, which went into effect in December 2020, to disconnect SIM cards that were unregistered and unlinked to NINs.
The most current deadline for blocking users with up to four SIMs and unverified NIN information was set for April 15, 2024, despite the NCC having extended it several times since December 2023.
However, in order to give customers additional time to confirm their NIN information, this deadline was later moved to July 31, 2024. The commission said on Monday that many phone lines still do not have confirmed NIN links, even with these extensions.
“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.
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“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.”
In order to keep access to its lines, the NCC asked anyone in the public who hasn’t verified their SIM card to do so “as soon as possible.”
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