NIN: Telcos To Disconnect SIM March 29

Telecom operators in Nigeria are gearing up for another potential round of disconnections for subscribers who have failed to properly link their National Identification Number (NIN) with their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) numbers.

Scheduled for Friday, March 29, 2024, this move aligns with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) directive aimed at enhancing national security.

The disconnection campaign, initiated on February 28, 2024, targets SIMs that are not adequately linked with NINs, in an effort to curb the misuse of telecom services by criminals, including bandits and kidnappers.

The NCC’s phased disconnection directive has already seen a significant number of SIMs barred in its first phase.

Vanguard reports that a subsequent phase of the exercise is planned for April 15, 2024, focusing on subscribers with four or fewer SIMs and unresolved NIN-SIM linkages.

Despite appeals from telecom operators for an extension of the deadline to accommodate more users, indications suggest that the NCC might proceed as planned.

The first phase of the NCC directive led to approximately 40 million lines being barred, impacting users who had either failed to submit their NINs or possessed inactive SIMs without NINs.

This stringent measure underscores the government’s commitment to leveraging digital identification to ensure security and compliance within the telecom sector.