A source within the Commission explained that the Commission’s position was hinged on its objective to clean the country’s SIM ownership database, and ensure that criminals could not take advantage of having multiple unlinked SIMs to carry out their nefarious activities.

“We are not standing back on our decision. March 29th is sacrosanct. Our resolve is hinged on the need to close in on the chaos of untoward ownership of multiple SIM cards with unverified NIN details. We have instances where a single individual has over 10,000 lines linked to his NIN. In some cases, we have seen a single person with 1,000 lines, some 3,000 plus lines. What are they doing with these lines?

“From our interim findings, the owners of these lines did not purchase them for decent purposes or to undertake legitimate activities.

“We have given them enough time to make the decision of which of their lines they want to keep, and discard the others. They did not. All lines in this category with unverified NINs will be barred. They will be then expected to go to their operators and decide which of the lines they want to keep, as well as submit correct NIN details.

“Some people would say they want to use it for car trackers, or for IoTs, but provision has been made for these services already. They are not under the ‘Max-4 Rule.’

“Across the world, no country allows you to have 1,000 SIM cards to make calls or texts.”

The Max-4 Rule announced by the Federal Government in April 2021 provides that telecom subscribers cannot have more than four lines per mobile network operator.

The NCC has also provided Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) an extension till July 31st 2024 within which they are expected to verify all NINs submitted by subscribers with four (4) or less SIMs, as well as bar those whose NIN fail verification with NIMC.

An authoritative source within the Commission who is familiar with the matter stated that the Commission’s management arrived at the decision at a crucial meeting it held today to review requests from the major Mobile Network Operators requesting for extension for the verification of NINs submitted.

The source also stated that the Commission is mulling the idea to approve an online application solution for MNOs where their subscribers whose NIN verification failed due to biometric mismatch can update their records on the app, while existing subscribers can register additional lines.

New Accounts without BVN to be Blocked in 30 Days, says CBN

This is according to a Friday circular by the apex bank which instructed banks to place a “Post no Debit” restriction – which prevents customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits “for all existing Tier-1 accounts/wallets without BVN or NIN”.

“Effective immediately, any unfunded account/wallet shall be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ until the new process is satisfied.  Effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets shall be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ and no further transactions permitted,” the circular by Chibuzo Efobi, the CBN Director of Payments System Management Department and Haruna Mustapha, the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, read in part.

It also said all BVN/NIN attached to accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024,

According to the bank, verifications will be “conducted shortly”, adding that the move is part of its efforts to promote financial system stability and strengthening of the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures in financial institutions.

The bank will also carry out a “comprehensive BVN and NIN audit shortly” and where breaches are identified, appropriate sanctions shall be applied.

“The process for account opening shall commence by electronically retrieving BVN or NIN-related information from the NIBSS’ BVN or NIMC’s NIN databases and for same to become the primary information for onboarding of new customers, and all existing customer accounts/wallets for individuals with validated BVN shall be profiled in the NIBSS’ ICAD immediately and within 24hrs of opening accounts/wallets,” the CBN added.

In cases where a potential customer does not have a BVN or NIN, the CBN advised the regulated financial institution to “commence the process of enrolling the individual onto the BVN database and be guided by the extant protocols issued by NIBSS”.