SIM barring exercise not connected to planned protests – ALTON

The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) on Monday said there is no connection between the ongoing subscriber line barring exercise and the planned national protest.

The telecommunication operators disclosed this in a statement jointly signed by its Chairperson, Gbenga Adebayo and its Executive Secretary, Gbolahan Awonuga.

“The attention of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has been drawn to some online reports linking the ongoing subscriber line barring exercise, with the planned national protest.

“There’s absolutely no connection between the two. The NIN/SIM link registration deadline has earlier been set for 31st July 2024,” the operators said.

MTN, the largest mobile network in Nigeria with millions of subscribers, barred the telephone lines of several users on Sunday due to concerns arising from the linkage of National Identification Numbers (NIN) and mobile phone numbers.

Some of the affected persons, however, alleged that the company did so as part of efforts to frustrate a planned nationwide anti-government protest scheduled to commence on Thursday.

On Sunday, ALTON said that the harmonisation exercise of the SIM registration database and National Identity Database has been ongoing for several months.

This, it said, is aimed at improving the integrity of the national SIM registration database.

“Customers who had their lines blocked recently are those whom their service providers found a mismatch between their records on both databases. We advise such customers to contact their service providers through communicated channels for resolution of the issue,” it said.

Recommendations

However, the telecommunication operators said all operators have put in place measures to ensure that anyone whose line is blocked can unblock it by following some easy steps.

For Airtel, subscribers are recommended to dial *121# and input their eleven-digit NIN number.

It said the subscriber will receive a confirmation message that you have successfully unbarred your Airtel SIM card.

For EMTS, subscribers are expected to dial *200*8#.

For Glo, subscribers are recommended to dial *109* and NIN number#. For example, it said, “If your NIN is 12345678901, you would dial *109*12345678901# then follow the prompts to submit your NIN for linkage.”

It explained that if an MTN line is barred, all the subscriber needs to do is visit nin.mtn.ng to check the NIN status, and if not linked, proceed to link it. During the process, it said an OTP would be requested, as well as the NIN. After giving consent and submitting the NIN linking request, it will be done and the line will be automatically unbarred.

Smile subscribers are recommended to send their valid NIN to customercare@smile.com.ng or call 07020444444. It said subscribers will be asked to provide consent, upon receipt of customer consent and successful verification of NIN, the line will be unbarred.

It noted that Spectranet subscribers should call the toll-free line 8002345678 and submit their NIN, but they will have to get their KYC done at the Spectranet store.

“Customers can email us at care@spectranet.com.ng and submit their NIN but will have to submit their KYC at the Spectranet store. Customers can go to the Spectranet website and submit their NIN online, but to complete the process, they will have to do KYC at the Spectranet store.”

It added that Ntel customers should visit any Ntel store with their NIN, fingerprint is used to call up their existing KYC profile with Ntel for verification, consent is received, and the line is updated and unbarred. In case these online steps fail, it said subscribers can physically visit any walk-in centres of operators, to unblock their lines.

ALTON said it is committed to supporting the government of Nigeria and upholding the rights of citizens.

“As an industry, we respect and commit to protecting the rights of all people to communicate, to share information freely and responsibly, and to enjoy privacy and security regarding their data and their use of digital communications,” the statement said.

Background

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had in March provided Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) an extension till 31 July, to verify all Identity Numbers (NIN) submitted by subscribers with four or fewer SIMs, as well as bar those whose NINs fail verification with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The compulsory linkage began in 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to block calls from unregistered and unlinked lines.

The policy was expected to help the authorities in fighting bandits and terrorists who kidnap and kill innocent people daily. Despite the extension of deadlines, many phone lines are yet to be linked.