Most of the telecom subscribers who have had their SIM cards blocked by the telecom operators for failure to link the lines with their National Identity Numbers (NINs) are not too concerned about getting the lines back, many of the agents and registration staff of the four major operators said on Thursday.
About 11.2 million mobile lines, which have yet to be linked to their owners’ NINs, were yesterday blocked by the big four telecom operators on the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
There are about 224.7m active mobile telephone lines in the country, according to NCC, and 11.2m of the total figures have yet to fully comply with the government’s directive that all SIM cards be linked with their owners’ NIN before February 28.
About 104m Nigerians have registered and gotten their NINs, according to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
This shows that about 213.5m mobile lines have so far been linked with their owners’ NINs.
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An Abuja-based journalist confirmed to our reporter on Thursday that her Airtel line was barred because of her failure to link it with her NiN.
“Yes, it is true. My Airtel has been barred by the operator. They said I have to link my NIN to my SIM”, the journalist, who sought not to be named, said.
Another subscriber, Nafisat Muri Ola, said she was barred from using her Glo line since Thursday morning. She expressed belief that her inability to use the line might have been connected to SIM-NIN non-linkage.
Similarly, checks by Daily Trust across the country yesterday showed that many of the owners of the barred lines were not bothered as telcos and their agents’ offices witnessed just the normal usual crowd.
In Lagos, an agent of one of the telcos, Emeka Eze, said “We have not noticed any crowd of people trying to get their lines back. No, it is just like a normal business day for us: We waited to get customers, no rush at all,” Eze said.
Many of the agents spoken to by our reporter related stories almost similar to Eze’s.
Also, visits on Thursday afternoon to some shops and registration offices of the big four operators in Lagos and Abuja revealed many of the owners of the blocked lines have yet to besiege their places for linkage.
When asked why despite the 11.2m blocked lines, unusual crowds were not seen at telcos’ shops to get back their lines. A top staff at the NCC told Daily Trust that “ most of the blocked lines might have been used as alternative lines, and the owners may not be so bothered for now as long as the main lines are active.”
A top NCC source who didn’t want to be quoted said many Nigerians have as many as five to six active lines. “So blocking one or two may not really affect them unless the blocked lines are their main lines.”
Speaking with Daily Trust, a public affair analyst, Mikail Oriyomi, said the telecom operators and the federal government would lose millions of naira due to the blocked lines.
The NCC had last year issued February 28, 2024, as the deadline for the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to block subscribers without NINs and those whose NINs have not been verified.
However, the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday issued an injunction banning Nigerian telecom carriers from deactivating or terminating any phone line or SIM card that is not linked to the user’s NIN.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ordered telecom operators to refrain from taking action against consumers who have not linked their phone lines or SIM to NIN, in response to an application filed by Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje.
The NCC and the telecom operators have yet to appeal the court decision.
On Wednesday, the NCC reiterated its directive to telecom operators to bar telephone subscribers not linked to their NIN on or before February 28, 2024.
The NCC had issued a directive dated December 15, 2023, for telecommunications operators to commence full network barring of affected SIMs effective February 28, 2024.
It should be recalled that the federal government commenced implementing the SIM/NIN harmonisation programme in December 2020 through the NCC.
To avoid service restrictions, the programme requires all telecommunications subscribers to link their NIN to their SIM registration records.
The linking involves validating the NIN with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and matching the subscriber’s NIN records with the SIM registration information (verification) to ensure proper subscriber identification.
