FG Orders Blockage Of Sim Cards Without NIN Linkage

GoldenNewsNg reports that the federal government has finally taken the hard option to get Nigerian mobile phone users link their numbers to the National Identification Number (NIN) with a directive to telecommunication companies to bar all outgoing calls on unlinked lines from today, April 4, 2022.

The directive was issued via a joint press statement by Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, the National Communication Commission (NCC), and Kayode Adegoke, Head, Corporate Communications, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) on Monday morning.

The statement, read: “It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, gave the directive for the implementation and commencement of the exercise in December 2020, as part of the administration’s security and social policies. The deadlines for the NIN-SIM linkage has been extended on multiple occasions to allow Nigerians to freely comply with the Policy. The FG also took into consideration the passionate appeals by several bodies – Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Civil Societies, Professional Bodies and a host of others – for the extension of the deadlines in the past,” the statement reads.

“Accordingly, Mr. President graciously approved the many requests to extend deadlines for the NIN-SIM linkage. At this point however, Government has determined that the NIN-SIM Policy implementation can proceed, as machinery has already been put in place to ensure compliance by citizens and legal residents. The implementation impacts on Government’s strategic planning, particularly in the areas of security and socio-economic projections.”