[BREAKING]: FG orders Telcos to bar outgoing calls from unlinked SIM cards

Federal authorities have ordered telecommunications providers like MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile to block all outgoing calls from any SIM cards that have not yet been linked to a National Identification Number (NIN) (NIN).

On Monday, Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, made the announcement that this was part of the government’s NIN-SIM linkage Policy being implemented.

Ikechukwu Adinde, the Nigerian Communications Commission’s director of public affairs, and Kayode Adegoke, the NIMCO’s director of corporate communications, both signed the statement.

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NIN-SIM linkage was enacted by the Nigerian government as part of its “security and social policies” in December 2020, but many Nigerians have questioned the effectiveness of the NIN-SIM linkage, as kidnappers of passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna train and others continue to call their victims’ families to demand ransom while going scot-free, untraced with their NINs.

Pantami said in a statement released on Monday that the NIMC has issued over 78 million NINs to date, despite the fact that over 125 million SIM cards have had their NINs submitted for linking, verification, and authentication.

NIN-SIM Linkage: Federal Government Applauds Compliance and Directs Telcos to Bar Outbound Calling on Unlinked Lines From April 4, 2022′ was the headline of the statement.

It partly read, “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.

 

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the implementation of the Policy with effect from the 4th of April, 2022. Consequently, the Federal Government has directed all Telcos to strictly enforce the Policy on all SIMs issued (existing and new) in Nigeria.

“Outgoing calls will subsequently be barred for telephone lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage Policy from the 4th of April, 2022.

“Subscribers of such lines are hereby advised to link their SIMs to their NINs before the Telcos can lift the restriction on their lines. Affected individuals are hereby advised to register for their NINs at designated centres and thereafter link the NINs to their SIMs through the channels provided by NIMC and the Telcos, including the NIMC mobile App.”