Linked to NIN Before Feb

Emma Okonji

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given orders to telecoms operators (Teicos) to commence full barring of all unregistered and improperly registered SIM cards on their networks that have not been linked to the National Identity Number (NIN) of the SIM card holder.

The NCC’s directive mandates telecoms operators to commence full barring before February next year.

Before now, operators were allowed to bar only outgoing calls for all unregistered and improperly registered SIM Cards that were not linked to NIN, thus allowing such SIM Cards to only receive calls without the ability to generate calls.

Chairman, Association of Licenced Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, who confirmed the new directive from the NCC, advised subscribers yet to register their SIM cards and yet to link their SIM cards to their NIN, to do so immediately to avoid total disconnection.

Adebayo in a statement released by ALTON yesterday, stated: “We therefore, wish to appeal to esteemed subscribers to kindly enrol for NINs or submit their NINs through the appropriate channel advertised by members to avoid full suspension of services.”

MTN, which also received the NCC’s directive to commence barring of SIM cards before February next year, disclosed that it would comply with the directive.

In a statement released by MTN Nigeria yesterday and signed by the company’s Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, the telco said: “MTN Nigeria

Communications Plc hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public that the company received a formal directive from the NCC to implement full network barring on all phone lines for which the subscribers have not submitted their national identity numbers (NINs) and those whose NINs are unverified.

“This is part of an industry-wide directive that requires phone lines for which the subscribers have not submitted their NINs to be barred on or before 28 February 2024.

“With regard to NINs that have been submitted but not verified, such lines are to be barred on or before 29 March 2024, where five or more lines are linked to an unverified NIN. Similarly, where less than five lines are linked to an unverified NIN, such lines are to be barred on or before 15 April 2024. All affected subscribers must be verified (biometrics and biodata) before their lines are unbarred.

“This is a follow-up to the NCC’s directive on 4 April 2022 requiring operators to restrict outgoing calls (one-way barring) for subscribers whose lines are not associated with NINs.”

The statement further said:” We are further engaging the affected subscribers through all our channels to encourage them to submit their NINs for verification.

“As part of these efforts, we are enhancing the capacity of our various service outlets to make the process smoother and more efficient. We are committed to ensuring that our subscribers comply with the NCC directive and will continue to work with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to accelerate the NIN verification process.

“We appreciate the effort being made by the federal government to implement a reliable and sustainable National Identity Management system, which is a crucial enabler for national and economic development.”