NCC Warns Subscribers That Allowing Your NIN To Be Linked To Another Person SIM Card

NCC warns subscribers that allowing your NIN to be linked to another person's SIM card

A strong warning has been issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to telecoms customers to avoid linking their National Identification Number (NIN) to another person's Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, no matter how close the person is to them.

While hosting its third installment of its Telecom Consumer Town Hall on Radio (TCTHR) program, which was recently broadcast live on Human Rights Radio, 101.1 FM in Abuja, the Commission issued the warning. The event took place on the National Communications Commission's Digital Signature on Radio platform.

The NCC Digital Signature on Radio is the Commission's flagship radio program, developed to educate the general public about the Commission's mandates and to provide critical, consumer-centric, and up-to-date information about how the Commission is carrying out those mandates. The program is broadcast on a variety of radio stations throughout the country.

Director of the Consumer Affairs Bureau of the National Communications Commission (NCC), Efosa Idehen, stated on the radio program titled 'the Benefits of NIN-SIM Integration' that "under no circumstances should a telecom consumer allow another person to register a SIM with another person's NIN."

According to Idehen, following this advice will protect the true owner of the NIN from any liabilities or negative consequences that may arise as a result of the use of another person's SIM card.

As he explained, "If the individual whose SIM card is linked to your line uses his or her own SIM card to commit crimes or atrocities, it is relatively easy to trace him or her back to your line, and then you will be dealt with."

While listening to the radio program's two-hour phone-in segment, consumers in Nigeria and the diaspora, particularly in the United Kingdom (UK), Russia, and neighboring countries such as Ghana, were able to call in and get clarifications on their concerns about Nigeria's ongoing NIN-SIM integration process.

A large portion of the discussions centered on educating consumers about the NIN and its purpose, the process of obtaining the NIN, why consumers are being asked to submit their NIN to their Mobile Network Service Providers, the advantages of NIN-SIM linkage, the relationship between the NIN and Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration, the step-by-step approach to linking the NIN to the SIM, and the role and uses of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) *346#

In addition to Efosa, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, the National Communications Commission's Director of Public Affairs, was in the studio, represented by Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, an Assistant Director in the department; and Mrs. NnennaUkoha, a Deputy Director in the NCC's Projects Department, who educated consumers on the various aspects of the NIN-SIM integration exercise.

In addition to Aruna, Mistura Aruna, the NCC's Head of Consumer Information and Education; Kayode Adegoke, the NIMC's Head of Corporate Communication; and representatives from mobile operators including MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9Mobile will participate on the panel.

The radio program reminded listeners on multiple occasions that the deadline for NIN-SIM integration is October 31, 2021. Previous extensions of the deadline for completion of the NIN-SIM linkage had been granted by the federal government until October 31, 2021.

As a result of a combination of traditional radio listeners and viewers on Human Rights Radio's social media assets, the two-hour discussion program, which was also livestreamed on social media, drew a larger audience than in previous editions.

So it achieved the NCC's goal of expanding its reach to telecom consumers in order to strengthen their protection through information sharing and education, thereby improving the quality of the consumer experience with telecom services in Nigeria, as well as its other objectives.