On Monday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) ordered all telecommunications service providers to restore all lines deactivated for not linking their National Identity Number (NIN) to their SIM cards.

The NCC disclosed this in a statement on Monday amid renewed complaints of SIM card blockage by telcos.

“Over the weekend, many telecom subscribers/consumers were unable to access their phone lines because of the inability of many telecom consumers to verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs). This meant that their numbers were blocked by their telecom service providers in keeping with laws and policies of the NIN-SIM linkage,” NCC said.

It added, “The commission has directed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend in view of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs. Reactivated consumers are to note that this is for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NIN to their SIM.”

Telcos had come under public criticism for deactivating subscribers’ SIM cards over the weekend, a development that came as Nigerians prepare for nationwide protests over economic hardship.

Meanwhile, before the NCC’s announcement, Ebun Adegboruwa, a senior lawyer, had warned telcos against shutting down the network ahead of the August protest.