The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, has stated that more than 30 million phone lines are not properly linked to a National Identification Number and remain at risk of disconnection.
He said these lines are mainly in car trackers, MiFi units, WiFi devices, and Point of Sale machines.
“The numbers are staggering. We are looking at potentially over 30 million SIM cards, including those in various digital devices, that have not been properly linked to the NIN. Many of these SIMs are in car trackers, POS machines, MiFis, WiFis, and many other devices that use SIMs to operate,” Adebayo said during a recent interview with News Central and monitored by our correspondent on Thursday.
This revelation comes on the back of recent chaos caused by the unblocking of lines not connected to their NINs.
Last weekend, telcos began barring phone lines not linked with NINs days before the Nigerian Communications Commission’s July 31, 2024 deadline.
Since February 2024, telcos have implemented a phased disconnection of phone lines in compliance with an NCC directive.
