Nigerians Groan As SIM Registration, Swap Halted Over NIMC System Migration

Many Nigerians have expressed frustration as SIM registration, swap, and related services have been halted across all mobile networks following a system migration ordered by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

Across the country, subscribers were turned away from service centres, unable to register new SIMs, replace damaged or lost cards, or port their numbers to other networks, key services that require real-time identity validation.

Several Nigerians who spoke to me, described how the disruption is affecting their daily lives. Mrs. Aze, a Lagos resident, said she had visited a mobile service center in Ikeja to register a SIM card for her teenage daughter, only to be informed that all such services had been suspended.

“They told me the network is down and they can’t do any new registration. My daughter just got a new phone, and we planned to link it to her student account. Now everything is on hold,” Aze lamented.

Similarly, a business owner in Lagos, Mr. Kunle Bola, said he has been unable to retrieve a lost SIM card for nearly two days, disrupting customer communications and mobile banking. “I use my line for banking, and now I can’t even receive OTPs. They said it’s a system issue and nothing can be done until it’s resolved,” he said.

Another affected user and a student with Lagos state polytechnic, Eno Ekaete, said she visited three different centers to swap her SIM but was turned away each time. “They all said the same thing; that the NIMC platform isn’t connecting.”

Licensed partners and frontline agents also confirmed the widespread service outage. Several Front End Partners (FEPs), also known as licensed SIM registration agents, told me they were unable to process any new SIMs or swaps due to the ongoing migration to the new NIMC platform.

“Since on Thursday last week, all the registration devices are unable to verify NINs in real-time. We can’t proceed with anything. It is affecting everyone,” said one agent in Lagos who asked not to be named.

Meanwhile The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has announced a temporary suspension of SIM-related services across all mobile networks in the country due to ongoing migration to a new identity verification platform mandated by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

ALTON, in a statement issued Tuesday and signed by ALTON chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, and publicity secretary, Barr. Damian Udeh, said the transition, which affects processes such as SIM swap, SIM replacement, new SIM activations, and Mobile Number Portability (MNP), has introduced unforeseen technical challenges, temporarily disrupting real-time identity verification services nationwide.

“This disruption follows a recent directive from the NIMC, mandating our Mobile Network Operator (MNO) members to transition to a new identity verification platform. The migration process, which is central to the verification required for SIM registration and other services, has unfortunately impacted service availability,” ALTON explained.

While acknowledging the inconvenience, ALTON emphasized that the shift to the new NIMC system is intended to strengthen the integrity and efficiency of national identity management in the long-term.