Lawyers and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are worried that switching off phone lines not linked to National Identification Numbers will make the economic difficulties faced by Nigerians even worse.
Telecommunication companies are set to block unlinked phone lines on Friday, as per the Nigerian Communications Commission’s instruction.
The disconnection process is being carried out in phases, with the second phase scheduled for March 29, 2024, following the initial phase on February 28, 2024. The third phase is due to start on April 15, 2024, as previously announced.
Florence Horace, an executive at the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, described the NCC decision as severe, stating that the initiative has not yet addressed the issue of insecurity.
Horace raised concerns about the initiative's effectiveness in combating increasing fraud and insecurity, despite its aim to enhance security through connecting phone numbers to individuals' national identities.
The lawyer highlighted the need to reduce the inconvenience experienced by Nigerians, such as long waits at registration centers, which discourage many from completing the process.
She argued that evaluating the project's effectiveness should involve consulting people from various economic backgrounds, rather than relying solely on compliance metrics.
The executive stated, “Every day, Nigerians are being tricked out of their hard-earned money, and they cannot track down the perpetrators or even determine their location. So, what is the advantage? Some people only comply with the requirement without understanding its purpose.
“My domestic worker hails from the North, and her line was disconnected because she did not link it to NIN. This involves someone from the North. It is possible that those who need to receive the message are not getting it.
“They should consider extending the deadline, and stretching it until the end of the year would not be a bad idea. It is not just about the extension. There needs to be a simple way for Nigerians to do this. There should be a code that one can dial to link the phone line with NIN. It does not have to be complicated.
“When people visit different centers to do the linkage, they see long queues and end up returning home. The next day, they go back, and the same problem persists. Why wouldn't they get tired?” Horace pointed out.
Horace concluded that simplifying the NIN-SIM linkage process is crucial to ensure broad compliance and effectiveness in addressing security concerns, as current challenges pose a threat to the initiative’s objectives.
Solomon Aderoju, Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises South-West Region, informed The PUNCH that disconnecting phone lines could impact businesses relying on connectivity.
“For people like me who conduct online training, having a faulty wifi connection means being unable to connect with participants. I had a three-day online program planned before going to Nasarawa, so having a reliable wifi connection was vital.
“Virtual meetings save money. For example, I have another online meeting scheduled in the next 30 minutes, and it simply won’t be possible without a good internet connection,” he said.
He suggested that the NCC and telcos should allow more time for Nigerians to link their phone numbers to the NIN.
“We tend to rush things, especially at the last minute, even though the intentions may be good. There needs to be more time given to it or many people will be disconnected,” Aderoju said.
Issues with registration
On Wednesday, telecom customers expressed frustration because telecom agents couldn't capture the necessary information for verification and upload it to the National Identity Management Commission server.
The President of NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told The PUNCH that the NCC needed to instruct telcos not to disconnect telephone lines, considering the difficulties faced by subscribers.
The telecom regulator had stated that there would be no changes to the deadline for the next phase of disconnection.
Earlier, the Director of Public Publicity at the NCC, Reuben Mouka, told The PUNCH, “We issued a publication that you can refer to. We specified certain deadlines and said that subscribers who do not comply with the directive would be barred. And that has not changed.”
During the last deadline on February 28, 2024, about 40 million unlinked phone lines were barred.
The NATCOM president said that before the first deadline, subscribers had asked the NCC for a one-month extension.
However, the NCC explained that there was no issue as the process was designed to occur in stages.
According to the president, the Operator’s Consumer Centre is the main place for consumers to complete their registration, with the data provided there being verifiable.
However, the president noted that telecom agents are skipping important information during the registration process, leading to incomplete registrations for subscribers.
“For instance, during interactions with telecom representatives, some agents fail to collect all required information from subscribers.
“If a subscriber can't provide certain details, agents often leave the registration incomplete. As a result, these incomplete registrations are considered unverifiable,” he said.
In addition, Ogunbanjo pointed out that NIMC also shares responsibility for this process.
He mentioned that the challenges arise when telecom companies try to upload collected data due to network issues.
These network problems, beyond the control of subscribers, delay the timely completion of the registration process, he said.
“NIMC’s inadequate network infrastructure worsens the problem. While they intend to accept data uploads, technical issues prevent them from doing so effectively.
“We urge the NCC to address NIMC’s shortcomings, improve their services, and recognize that meeting the deadline will be difficult given the current issues,” the president added.
NIMC is a Nigerian organization that runs the country’s national identity management systems.
NIMC’s enrollment figures as of December 31, 2023, amount to over 104.16 million individual records.
Approximately 530,345 Nigerians living abroad have received NINs. NINs have been obtained by 59.12 million male and 45.04 million female Nigerians.
When The PUNCH contacted NIMC for comments on technical issues, the Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, clarified that the commission’s server has consistently been in operation, refuting reports suggesting otherwise.
He stressed that the NIMC’s services are fully operational and available to all users.
“Our server has never been down. You can visit the different NIN centres and verify.
Adegoke further explained the process for subscribers to connect their NIN to their SIM cards.
“These individuals only need to provide their NIN and complete the verification process through their respective telecom providers.
He urged those who have not yet obtained their NIN to go to any NIMC center for registration.
Last week, the National Identity Management Commission and the NCC issued a joint statement unveiling a strategic partnership aimed at simplifying the NIN-SIM linkage procedures for telecommunications subscribers nationwide.
Both agencies reaffirmed their commitment to improving the processes involved and enhancing efficiency regarding the NIN and SIM card linkage initiative.
They recognize the importance of this initiative in strengthening security measures and improving service delivery across the country.
The SIM-NIN linkage initiative is a crucial step towards improving the integrity of subscriber data and enhancing security measures within the telecommunications industry.
The NIN-SIM linkage policy was first introduced by the Nigerian government in December 2020. This order requires all telephone line users in Nigeria to associate their SIM cards with their NIN.
In December of the previous year, the NCC issued a directive requiring all telecommunications operators in Nigeria, including major providers like MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, among others, to enforce complete network barring on all phone lines for which subscribers have not provided their NINs by February 28, 2024.
Two weeks ago, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project warned that legal action would be taken against the NCC if it does not revoke the directive instructing network providers to block the phone lines of individuals who have not linked their SIM cards to their NINs.
NCC reacts
The NCC has confirmed that it will not be reconsidering its deadline to block owners of more than four SIM cards whose SIM registration data did not match their NIN data.
A source within the Commission explained that the Commission’s position was based on its goal to clean the country’s SIM ownership database and ensure that criminals could not take advantage of having multiple unlinked SIMs to carry out their unlawful activities.
“We are not stepping back on our decision. March 29th is crucial. Our determination is based on the need to address the issue of improper ownership of multiple SIM cards with unverified NIN details. We have cases where a single individual has over 10,000 lines linked to his NIN. In some instances, we have seen a single person with 1,000 lines—some 3,000 plus lines. What are they doing with these lines?
“Based on our initial findings, the individuals who own these lines did not buy them for good reasons or to engage in lawful activities.
“We have given them sufficient time to decide which of their lines they want to keep and get rid of the others. They did not. All lines in this category with unverified NINs will be blocked. They will then be required to go to their operators and decide which of the lines they want to keep, as well as provide the correct NIN details.
“Some individuals may claim they want to use it for car trackers or for IoTs, but there are already provisions for these services. They are not covered by the ‘Max-4 Rule.’
“Around the world, no country permits you to have 1,000 SIM cards for making calls or texts.”
The Max-4 Rule introduced by the Federal Government in April 2021 stipulates that telecom subscribers cannot have more than four lines per mobile network operator.
The NCC has also given Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) an extension until July 31st, 2024, to verify all NINs submitted by subscribers with four (4) or fewer SIMs, as well as block those whose NINs fail verification with the NIMC.
An informed source within the Commission who is familiar with the matter stated that the Commission’s management reached the decision at an important meeting it held today to review requests from the major mobile network operators seeking extensions for the verification of NINs submitted.
The source also mentioned that the Commission is considering approving an online application solution for MNOs where their subscribers whose NIN verification failed due to a biometric mismatch can update their records on the app while existing subscribers can register additional lines.
