OVER NIN-SIM CONNECTIVITY, MTN, GLO, AIRTEL, AND OTHER COMPANIES DISCONNECT PHONE LINES.

Babatunji Wusu –

On Wednesday, some telecom customers voiced their dissatisfaction over the telecoms blocking their lines even though they had connected their SIM cards to their National Identity Numbers (NINs).

According to NAN, by February 28, 2024, all phone lines for which subscribers have not submitted their NINs or have not had their NINs verified will have full network barring implemented by their regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This includes MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, among other telecommunications operators in Nigeria.

The NCC further stated that, similar to situations in which five or more lines are connected to an unverified NIN, NINs that had been submitted but not verified were to be prohibited on or before March 29, 2024. Similarly, lines that are associated with an unverified NIN for less than five lines must be blocked by April 15, 2024, at the latest.

Subscribers complained of barred lines at all the telcos’ shops, but especially at the MTN outlets, during a Tuesday night visit by NAN to some of the telcos’ customer care centers in Lagos. The fact that their lines had been blocked from receiving calls even prior to the deadline of February 28 infuriated the customers.

A few of them expressed amazement that their lines were still blocked, claiming that they had already followed the NCC’s instructions and linked their NINs to their SIM cards. A businessman named Marcel Okoh said that he completed his NIN-SIM connection and did not take seriously a message that was received to his MTN line over the weekend.