After weeks of disruption, Nigerian telecom operators have confirmed the resumption of SIM swap services, which were temporarily suspended due to issues linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). The service is reportedly being restored nationwide, as per various sources and public statements from major telcos.
But while it’s good news for many frustrated subscribers, this entire episode raises a deeper question: why was such a critical service allowed to go down in the first place?
What Really Happened?
SIM swap services were halted in June 2025 due to a verification failure on the part of the NIMC. Telecom operators use the NIMC’s database to verify National Identification Numbers (NINs) before performing SIM swaps, registrations or retrievals which is one of the basic requirements of Nigeria’ digital identity framework.
Ripple effect occurs when the NIMC’s API or backend systems fail. Telcos are effectively ineffective at verifying identities or handling requests. This is precisely what happened in the past few weeks, causing public frustration, long queues, and unresponsive customer care representatives.
MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile also confirmed the issue and announced gradual restoration of service as infrastructure stabilization takes effect.
A Fragile System With Real-World Impact
The issue was never related to verifying NIN status of SIM swaps. It’s a crucial measure to prevent fraud, identity theft, and unregulated phone usage. Yet this situation showed how fragile integration remains. When one part of the system fails, everything else grinds to a halt.
It’s a reminder that even the most ambitious digital systems require resilience. Although NIMC has experienced technical failures before, the country’s tech ecosystem has made significant strides in establishing its unified identity layer. Passports, bank registrations and JAMB registration processes that require NIN verification were all disrupted by a similar outage in April 2023.
This time, it hit telcos. Next time, it could be worse.
What Telcos Are Saying
In separate messages sent by telecom operators to customers, most locations have resumed regular SIM swap services. An update was made public by MTN Nigeria on its X (previously Twitter) page, with the message “Recommendations to visit nearest service centers only”.
Airtel and Globacom have confirmed that the disruptions are a short-term fix, and they are gradually returning services to customers.
For subscribers who were in urgent need of a line recovery or SIM card replacement, this news is reassuring. It was not just phone access affected; it also affected banking apps, two-factor authentication and basic communications – especially for people in remote areas.
Beyond Blame: What Needs to Change
NIMC is easily blamed, but this concerns more than just one agency. A complete overhaul is required to improve Nigeria’s digital infrastructure reliability. The need for system redundancies across the country is heightened by the fact that SIM swaps, banking services and national exams all depend on one agency’s availability.
Public-private partnerships could help here. Given the robust tech infrastructure of telcos and banks, it may be beneficial to bring in some engineering skills from industry to NIMC or decentralize identity verification processes to alleviate the pressure on a single failure point.
Although the SIM swap services have been restored, the disruption highlighted how much more work remains to be done before Nigeria can achieve a truly secure digital identity. Telecoms must integrate with the national ID database.
