Millions of phone users may be cut off in Nigeria crackdown
Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator has ordered mobile phone users to link their devices to their national identity numbers, raising the prospect of millions of lines being blocked.
Subscribers have until 31 December to comply with the requirement, the Nigerian Communications Commission said in a statement on Tuesday on its website. Failure to do so will result in their phone lines being cut off in January, it said.
Nigeria had about 196 million active phone lines as of June 2020, NCC data shows. At the same time, only 41.5 million Nigerians had the required identity numbers, according to information on the website of the National Identity Management Commission, which is in charge of registrations.
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The Federal Government’s directive, which bars the activation of new Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, may pitch telephone users against Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country, especially those who have genuine reasons for the purchase of new SIM cards.
Findings by The Guardian showed that while MNOs have complied with the directive, subscribers seem to be at the receiving end as those with a genuine intention for new SIM cards are denied.
For instance, those who lose their lines may not be able to retrieve it until another two to three months or after the supposed audit must have been completed. For now, no specific date for the commencement of the audit, and fixed time to end it has not been agreed.