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Network operators have started implementing government’s rule on blocking unlinked phone lines.
More than 72 million Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) not linked with a National Identification Number (NIN) have been barred as government reins in to unplug phone users without verifiable identity on the National Identity Data Base (NIDB) as part of the measures to checkmate rampant kidnappings and banditry.
RELATED FG To Nigerians: Link Your NIN To SIM As Enforcement Begins In April
The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), operators umbrella body, announced last night that it “can confirm that our members have received formal directives from the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to bar out-going calls on subscriber lines that are not in compliance with the NIN-SIM linkage Policy requirement.”
The deadline followed multiple extensions granted by the federal government to allow subscribers complete the NIN-SIM. The final deadline was March 31, 2022 while the compliance regulation became effective April 4, 2022.
ALTON’s Chairman Gbenga Adebayo and Head, Operations, Gbolahan Awonuga in a statement jointly signed said the association is “committed to supporting the Federal Government of Nigeria and upholding the rights of citizens to communicate, to share information freely and responsibly, and to enjoy privacy and security regarding their data and their use of digital communications.”
It urged “telecommunication subscribers who have not obtained and/or linked a NIN to their SIMs, to do so at any of the designated centres.”
IT Edge News can report that millions of Nigerians have thronged network centres nationwide fearing the total telecoms blackout.
The NCC puts the total number of active telecom subscribers in Nigeria as at February 2022 at 197.77 million while only 125 million subscribers have submitted their NINs for verification.
An odd 72.77 million subscribers have not met the NIM-SIM linked deadline and would have to be unplugged in compliance with government’s directive.
