Scores of Nigerians with Barred Mobile Lines Troupe Out to MTN, GLO, Airtel and 9mobile Offices, NCC Says Barring Line is Not Linked to Foiling Planned Protests

By: AbdulWasiu Akintunde and Olufemi Orunsola 

Scores of Nigerians have on Monday morning trouped out to the offices of Telecommunication operators namely:MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile following the barring of their mobile lines by the Telecommunication operators over the last weekend.

Preliminary investigations by OPEN TELEVISION Naija  shows that the telcos’ actions are based on the disconnection timelines set by the industry regulator to bar subscribers who are yet to link a national identification number (NIN) to their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card(s).

However, contrary to the official position by the Telecommunication operators on the barring of unlinked lines, there are reports in some quarters suggesting that the telcos are barring subscribers’ lines as part of government’s agenda to scuttle the proposed national protests.

OPEN TELEVISION Naija recalls that the history of NIN-SIM linkage in Nigeria dates back to 2020 as it could be recalled that mobile networks based on a December 2023 directive from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) had barred subscribers who had not submitted their NINs for verification as of February 28, 2024.

Thereafter, a second stream of subscribers with five or more SIM whose NINs failed verification were also fully barred on March 29, 2024.

There have been several deadlines given in the past on the cut-off date for SIM cards not linked to NINs before the last deadline believed to have been set for July 31, 2024 as was planned to b definitive as shown from the strict adherence to the previous deadlines in February and March this year.

Sources within the Telecommunication sector informed OPEN TELEVISION Naija that the new decision was reached long before the planned protests.

The telecom regulator in the country, NCC had embraced a phase-by-phase SIM barring approach, as the directive for disconnection is being rolled out in stages.

The compulsory NIN-SIM linkage began in December 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to block calls from unregistered SIM cards and SIMs that are not linked to NIN.

Despite the extension of deadlines, many phone lines are yet to be linked with verified NINs.

Three years later, the issue of SIM-NIN linkage continues to have hitches, especially from the behavioural side of telecom consumers.

The Commission had set April 15, 2024, for the full network barring of the subscribers with four or fewer SIMs with unverified NIN details.

This deadline was moved by NCC to July 31, 2024, to give telecommunications consumers more time to ensure their submitted NIN details are properly verified.

The date of July 31, 2024, was set as the last date since April in well-publiculised news and notices by the NCC.

The NCC’s seemingly hard-line position hinged on its objective to clean the country’s SIM ownership database and enhance national security.

At a forum in Lagos, long before the planned nationwide protests, Dr. Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of NCC, expressed NCC’s commitment to ensuring that criminals do not take advantage of having multiple unlinked SIMs to carry out their nefarious activities.

Similarly, sources contacted at the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disagreed with social media users who accused the telcos of being used by the government to scuttle the planned national protests.

“This accusation about MTN or others barring people from its network is unfair, mischievous, and dangerous.

“Other networks have been disconnecting subscribers based on the extant policy in this regard. Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile, Smile Communications, VDT, etc., have been disconnecting non-compliant consumers, long before planned protests”.

“The NCC is considering extending the deadline against its wish, but that idea also came long before the scheduled protests.

“Nigerians need to demonstrate that they can reason and recall incidents and social issues and not allow themselves to be misled by those who are bent on bringing Nigeria down.

“The NCC and its licensees will never disconnect consumers from networks because of protests.

“The Commission has continued to say that consumers are the lifeblood of the telecommunications industry.

“Even the President of Nigeria has not said people have no right to protest. He (President Tinubu) and right-thinking citizens have only expressed concerns about the hijack of protests by nihilists and those determined to embark on wanton destruction of properties.

“So, those accusing MTN or other telecom networks of intention to sabotage the protests are unreasonable and manipulative.

“The Nigerian citizens and the public should not allow themselves to be misled to bring our country down in a reckless and brazen manner.

Importantly, the NCC and mobile network operators have been educating telecom consumers on how to get back on their networks if they are barred due to non-verification of their NIN with their SIMs.

The sources therefore Counsels that “People should take advantage of the opportunities and the awareness campaign to do their NIN-SIM verification”.