Nigeria, Feb. 7 -- The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday said SIM cards that are yet to be linked to the National Identity Numbers (NIN) will be deactivated by the end of February.

NCC Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Maida, disclosed this during a meeting with journalists on Tuesday.

"By the end of this month, SIMs without NIN will no longer work," Mr Maida said.

The compulsory linkage began in December 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to block calls from unregistered and unlinked NINs.

The policy was expected to help the authorities in fighting bandits and terrorists who kidnap and kill innocent people daily.

Despite the extension of deadlines, many phone lines ar...