The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that over 40 million phone lines that were blocked for not linking to National Identity Numbers (NIN) might soon be permanently lost.
The NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, said this during an interview with PUNCH Online on Tuesday.
He explained that the phone lines blocked by telecom operators missed the February 28, 2024 deadline to link their SIM cards to their NIN.
He said, “If the blocked lines are not updated within the next 180 days, they won’t be able to receive calls but will only be able to send texts and make calls. After that, they will be blocked from making calls too and might be forfeited to the service provider within 365 days.”
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To unblock your phone lines, here are the steps to follow as explained by the NCC’s Director of Publicity:
- If you haven’t registered for your NIN, do so at accredited centers across the country.
- Link the NIN with your SIM through the channels provided by your service provider.
- If you already have a registered NIN, visit your service provider center and present the NIN or link your SIM through the channels provided by your service provider.
- If you have a NIN but forgot the number, retrieve it by dialing *346# on your mobile phone.
- From the options displayed, select “NIN Retrieval” by typing ‘1’ if you are using the same phone number you registered with for your NIN.
- Follow the steps displayed on your screen and provide the required information.
- Note that this service costs N20, which will be deducted from your phone airtime balance.
- The four mobile network operators have specific USSD codes to link your NIN and SIM cards quickly:
- For MTN Customers: Dial *785# using the phone number you want to link, enter your NIN, and submit. Or dial *785*Your NIN# from the phone number you wish to link. The number will be linked to your NIN automatically.
- For Glo Customers: Send “UPDATENIN NIN FirstName LastName” to 109.
- For Airtel Customers: Dial *121*1# to link.
- For 9Mobile Customers: Dial *200*8# and follow the prompts on your phone screen.