Nigeria’s active voice subscriptions plummeted by 59.7 million in 2024, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) 2024 Subscriber/Network Performance Report.
This correction, which saw the active subscriber base drop from 224.7 million in 2023 to 164.9 million by December 2024 (a 26.6% year-on-year decline), was primarily caused by the strict enforcement of the National Identification Number (NIN)–Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) linkage policy.
The mass deactivation of unlinked SIM cards marks a phase in the multi-year drive of the Federal Government to strengthen national security and establish a credible digital identity database.
The NIN-SIM linkage policy was launched in February 2020 and jointly enforced by the NCC and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Following several extensions, the final cut-off date was September 14, 2024, leading to the automatic deactivation of any SIM without a verified NIN the following day.
The government made the linkage mandatory primarily to curb the criminal use of anonymous SIM cards, strengthen national security, and create a more reliable national identity database. The policy also aims to expand financial inclusion and improve digital service delivery.
The NCC report shows the massive decline was due to the removal of SIMs not linked to a verifiable NIN, coupled with the rectification of a long-standing subscriber-count discrepancy by a major mobile network operator, which had inflated the total subscriber count.
The subscriber loss also affected other industry metrics. Teledensity fell from 103.66% to 76.08%, and internet subscriptions dropped by 24.6 million users (a 14.98% contraction).
The NCC views the drop as a necessary and successful clean-up that has created a more authentic subscriber base. They argue that the verified database enhances national security and establishes a foundation for digital governance reforms, with President Bola Tinubu confirming that over 126 million Nigerians had been enrolled in the National Identity Database by September 2024.
