The Nigerian Communications Commission recently released a public notice, showing that about 5O million people are yet to link their national identity numbers, and this led to the banning of individuals' SIM cards globally, particularly in Nigeria.
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Why did MTN start blocking customers' SIM cards?
This report was delivered by Reuben Mouka, the NCC's Director of Public Affairs, on a news channel.
According to him, all the customers' telephone lines banned by their telecommunication operators violated the commission's February 28, 2024, deadline for telecom consumers to link their Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) to their NIN.
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He stated, "If the barred lines are not acted upon within the next 180 days." They will be unable to accept calls and will instead be able to text and make calls.
However, after the necessary days, they would be restricted from making calls and may forfeit their lines to their respective service provider within 365 days."
To unbarred your phone line as a result of failure to link your NIN, DAILYLIGHT has gathered helpful and step-by-step guidelines issued by the NCC's Director of Publicity.
How to retrieve your blocked or barred MTN SIM online
- Subscribers who have not yet registered for their NIN should register their SIM cards at approved facilities across the country.
- The next step is for you to connect your NIN. Keep reading; I will show you how to do that.
- For subscribers with registered NINs, simply visit your service provider center and present the NIN, or connect your SIM via the channels given by your service provider.
- However, if you have an NIN but have forgotten it, you can easily get it by dialing *346# on your mobile phone.
- If you are using the same phone number you enrolled with for your NIN, select "NIN Retrieval" and enter '1' from the alternatives provided.
Follow the instructions on your screen and enter the relevant information.
Keep in mind that using this service will only cost you N20 (deducted from your phone's airtime balance).
However, the four mobile network operators in the country have assigned specific USSD codes for seamless and speedy linking of your NIN and SIM cards.
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They are as follows:
- To MTN customers, dial *785# from the phone number you want to link, then enter your NIN and submit.
- Alternatively, dial *785*Your NIN# from that phone number. The number will be associated with your NIN immediately.
- For Glo customers, send "UPDATENIN NIN FirstName and LastName" to 109.
- To Airtel customers Simply dial *121*1# to connect.
- For 9Mobile customers. Dial *200*8# and then follow the steps on your phone screen.
By following all the above-mentioned steps, you will be able to successfully retrieve your blocked or barred MTN.