Nigeria’s telecommunications sector experienced one of its most significant corrections in recent years, as nearly 60 million phone lines were deactivated in 2024 due to the enforcement of the National Identification Number–Subscriber Identity Module (NIN–SIM) policy.
The Nigerian Communications Commission, in its 2024 Subscriber/Network Performance Report, revealed that active voice subscriptions dropped from 224.7 million in 2023 to 164.9 million by the end of 2024 — a 26.6 per cent decline.
According to the regulator, the massive fall resulted from the removal of SIM cards not linked to verified NINs, as well as the resolution of a long-standing subscriber-count discrepancy by a major network operator.
“This clean-up exercise was necessary to ensure a credible, secure and verifiable subscriber database in the country,” the NCC said. “SIMs without confirmed NIN linkage were automatically deactivated from September 15, 2024.”
The enforcement followed the Federal Government’s multi-year drive to link all SIM cards to valid NINs — a policy launched on February 4, 2020. After multiple extensions, authorities announced a final cut-off date of September 14, 2024.
Government officials said the linkage was introduced to curb the criminal use of unregistered SIM cards, strengthen national security and enhance the national identity database.
The policy is also expected to improve service delivery, expand financial inclusion and support digital payment systems.
In September 2024, President Bola Tinubu disclosed that more than 126 million Nigerians had been enrolled in the National Identity Database.
He also noted that the government had expanded the system’s capacity from 100 million to 250 million records “to ensure universal coverage and eliminate bottlenecks in the enrolment process.”
The NCC report further showed that teledensity fell from 103.66 per cent in 2023 to 76.08 per cent in 2024, reflecting the scale of the subscriber clean-up. Internet subscriptions also declined during the period — from 163.8 million to 139.3 million — representing a loss of 24.6 million users or a 14.98 per cent contraction.
Despite the decline in user numbers, the regulator recorded progress in network coverage. Nigeria achieved more than 95 per cent cellular coverage, while broadband penetration inched up from 43.71 per cent to 44.43 per cent.
The country now has widespread access to 3G (89 per cent), 4G (84 per cent) and 5G (13 per cent) networks.
Fresh NCC industry data from 2025 indicate that the sector has begun to rebound. Active telephone subscriptions rose to 173.54 million in September 2025, up from 171.57 million in August.
Internet subscriptions also increased slightly to 140.36 million, while teledensity improved to 80.05 per cent.
“These numbers show early signs of market recovery after the major clean-up of 2024,” the NCC stated.
“The industry is stabilising, and user growth is gradually picking up.”
