The Federal Government has ordered telecommunications operators to bar all outgoing calls of all Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards that have not been linked with the National Identification Number (NIN).

This directive was announced in a statement jointly signed on Monday by the Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ikechukwu Adinde, and the Head of Corporate Communications at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Kayode Adegoke.

According to the Statement, over 125 million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for linkage, verification and authentication, adding that NIMC has issued over 78 million unique NINs to date.

Thelagostimes recalls that the Federal Government, as part of its “security and social policies”, had mandated telecommunications subscribers to link their SIMs with their NINs in December 2020. Thereafter, there were several extensions by the commission, the last being March 31.

According to the NCC, at least 72.8 million subscribers risk being disconnected from telecommunication services following the latest directive.

The statement added that the enrolment for NIN was a continuous exercise as it was a precondition for service in telecommunication companies, banks, Nigerian Immigration Service, and several other government agencies.