JUST-IN:MTN Nigeria disconnects 4.2m subscribers over failure to NIN-linkage deadline.

MTN Nigeria said it has disconnected 4.2 million lines from its network, as the deadline for integrating National Identity Numbers (NIN) with mobile SIMs expired on February 28.

Recall that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued a directive, giving the nod to all telecommunications operators in Nigeria, to implement full network barring on all phone lines for which the subscribers have not submitted their NINs by February 28, 2024. 

Furthermore, individuals who have provided their NINs but have not received verification will likewise be completely banned. When five or more lines are connected to an unverified NIN, NINs that have been submitted but not verified will be prohibited on or before March 29, 2024.

Likewise, lines that have fewer than five connections to an unconfirmed NIN will be blocked by April 15, 2024, at the latest. The mandate states that before their lines being unbarred, all impacted subscribers must undergo biometric and biodata verification.

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MTN Nigeria, in its audited financial results released on Friday, said the lines disconnected were those for which the subscribers did not submit their NIN.

MTN Nigeria also disclosed that it has verified a total of 19 million lines since the NCC issued an industry-wide regulation in December 2023, requiring the complete banning of subscriber lines unlinked to their NIN. Out of these, it said 4.3 million have been verified and 4.2 million disconnected as of 28 February 2024, it added.

The company, however, noted that the disconnected lines would not affect its revenue as the users were of low value.

Several of these lines were low-value subscribers, minimising the revenue impact, saying, “We are actively engaging the authorities to accelerate the NIN verification process. We have also increased our engagement with the affected customers, providing various channels for verification to minimize service disruption