The Federal Government has directed all Mobile Telecoms Operators to strictly enforce the Policy on all issued existing Subscribers Identity Modules (SIMs) yet to be linked to their National Identity Number (NIN).

By so doing, outgoing calls will subsequently be barred for telephone lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage Policy from today, Monday, April 4.

In a joint statement by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), subscribers of such lines were advised to link their SIMs to their NINs before the Telcos can lift the restriction on their lines.

According to the statement, affected individuals are advised to register for their NIN’s at designated centers and thereafter link the NINs to their SIMs through the channels provided by NIMC and the Telcos, including the NIMC mobile App.

The The Federal Government, through the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Ibrahim Pantami, commended Nigerians and Legal Residents for their support during the exercise to link the National Identification Number (NIN) to the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM), the statement said.

It also disclosed that, as of date, more than 125 Million SIM’s have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication.

Similarly, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued over 78 Million unique NINs till date.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the directive for the implementation and commencement of the exercise in December, 2020, as part of the administration’s security and social policies.