Some telecommunications subscribers on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the barring of their lines by telcos despite having linked their National Identification Numbers with their SIM cards.
The subscribers expressed their displeasure in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
NAN reports that telecommunications (Telcos) operators in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, among others, had been directed by their regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to implement full network barring on all phone lines which subscribers had not submitted their NINs and those without verified NINs by February 28, 2024.
The NCC said further that NINs that had been submitted but not verified, such lines were to be barred on or before March 29, 2024, the same as in cases where five or more lines are linked to an unverified NIN.
Similarly, where less than five lines are linked to an unverified NIN, such lines are to be barred on or before April 15, 2024.
In a visit by NAN in Lagos on Tuesday evening to some of the
Some of them insisted that they had already linked their NINs to their SIM cards as directed by the NCC, so they were surprised that their lines were still barred.
A businessman, Mr. Marcel Okoh, said that a message was sent to his MTN line at the weekend, which he did not take seriously because he had done his NIN-SIM linkage.
Okoh said that two days after the message was sent, he noticed that his SIM had been disconnected, and he could no longer recharge or make calls with his phone.
“The disconnection is uncalled for because I have done what is needed, and I should have been given time to make enquiries.
Similarly, a Fashion Designer, Aisha Alao, who also uses an MTN line, said that she was disconnected by the telco without any notice.
Alao said that it was when she got to one of the MTN outlets that the agents explained to her that she needed to do a NIN-SIM linkage.
Also speaking with NAN, a retired Teacher, Mrs Veronica Maduabunechukwu, said that a disconnection notice was sent to her by Airtel despite having done her NIN-SIM linkage.
telcos customer service centres, subscribers were complaining about barred lines at all the telcos outlets, but more at the MTN outlets.
The subscribers were displeased that their lines had been barred from making calls even before the February 28 deadline.
