The Nigerian Communications Commission has instructed telecommunications operators to immediately restore all phone lines blocked due to the non-linkage of National Identification Numbers to SIM cards.
This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka.
“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,” the statement read.
”Reactivated consumers are to note that this is for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NIN to their SIM.”
Many telecom subscribers were unable to access their phone lines over the weekend due to the inability to verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs).
This led to their numbers being blocked by telecom service providers, in compliance with NIN-SIM linkage policies.
The compulsory linkage began in December 2020 when the government instructed telecommunication companies to bar unregistered SIM cards and those not linked to NIN.
Since December 2023, the Commission has extended the deadline several times, with April 15, 2024, set as the deadline for full network barring of subscribers with four or fewer SIMs and unverified NIN details.
Earlier, it was reported that large crowd of disgruntled subscribers gathered at MTN offices nationwide to express their frustration and disappointment over the telecom company’s blocking of phone numbers.
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