Telecom operators in Nigeria; MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile, have resumed SIM sales, swaps, and number porting after weeks of disruption caused by downtime on the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) verification portal.
The service suspension stemmed from NIMC’s migration to NINAuth, a more secure digital identity platform for verifying National Identity Numbers (NINs) during SIM registration and related services.
By the weekend of July 21–22, 2025, MTN and Airtel confirmed service restoration via social media, assuring users that NIMC’s portal was back online. Glo and 9mobile are expected to follow suit shortly.
The restoration brings relief to millions affected by the outage, especially users needing SIM replacements or new lines. It also highlights the growing importance of seamless digital ID integration in Nigeria’s telecom sector.
With services stabilizing, telcos are urging customers facing residual issues to visit their nearest service centers.
The episode underscores the need for stronger coordination among regulators and operators to avoid future service disruptions during system upgrades.
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