Telecommunications operators under the aegis of ALTON have clarified that the recent barring of some subscribers’ lines is unrelated to the planned national protest scheduled to start on Thursday.
This comes amid suspicions that the mass disconnection was a government attempt to stifle the protest.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), chairman Gbenga Adebayo and secretary Gbolahan Awonuga emphasised that the subscriber line barring exercise is not connected to the protest.
“The attention of ALTON has been drawn to some online reports linking the ongoing subscriber line barring exercise with the planned national protest,” the statement said.
“There’s absolutely no connection between the two. The NIN/SIM link registration deadline had been set for July 31, 2024. The harmonization exercise of the SIM Registration database and National Identity Database has been ongoing for several months to improve the integrity of the National SIM registration database. Customers who had their lines blocked recently are those whose records on both databases showed a mismatch.”
ALTON urged customers to contact their service providers to resolve the issue.
How to Unblock Your SIM Cards
ALTON outlined steps for customers to unblock their lines:
- Airtel: Dial *121# and input your eleven-digit NIN number. You will receive a confirmation message that your Airtel SIM card has been successfully unbarred.
- 9Mobile (EMTS): Dial 2008#.
- Glo: Dial 109Your NIN number#. For example, if your NIN is 12345678901, dial 10912345678901# and follow the prompts to submit your NIN for linkage.
- MTN: Visit nin.mtn.ng to check your NIN status. If not linked, proceed to link it. During the process, an OTP and the NIN will be requested. After giving consent and submitting the NIN linking request, the line will be automatically unbarred.
- Smile: Send your valid NIN to customercare@smile.com.ng or call 07020444444. Upon receipt of customer consent and successful verification of NIN, the line will be unbarred.
- Spectranet: Call toll-free line 8002345678 and submit your NIN. However, you will need to complete your KYC at a Spectranet Store. Alternatively, email care@spectranet.com.ng or submit your NIN online via the Spectranet website, but KYC must be done at a Spectranet Store.
- Ntel: Visit any Ntel store with your NIN. Fingerprint verification will call up your existing KYC profile for verification. Upon receipt of consent, the line will be updated and unbarred.
“In case these online steps fail, subscribers can physically visit any walk-in centers of operators to unblock their lines,” ALTON added.
