Mass deactivation shrinks Nigeria’s active lines to 164.9m

Nigeria’s telecoms sector experienced a major shake-up in 2024 as nearly 60 million mobile lines were removed from operators’ networks due to strict enforcement of the National Identification Number–Subscriber Identity Module (NIN–SIM) policy, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) latest Subscriber/Network Performance Report.

The NCC reported that active voice subscriptions plunged from 224.7 million in 2023 to 164.9 million by the end of 2024, a year-on-year fall of 26.6 per cent. The regulator attributed the dramatic decline to the mass deactivation of numbers that failed to meet the requirement for verified NIN linkage, as well as a major operator’s correction of previously inflated subscriber figures.

The SIM clean-up was the culmination of the Federal Government’s long-running effort to tie every mobile line to a valid NIN. The exercise, introduced in February 2020 and jointly overseen by the NCC and the National Identity Management Commission, went through several deadline shifts before authorities fixed 14 September 2024 as the final cut-off date. From the following day, any line without a confirmed NIN was barred from service.

Government officials have long argued that the policy is essential to curbing the criminal use of unregistered SIM cards, improving national security and creating a dependable central identity database. It is also expected to enhance service quality, broaden financial inclusion and underpin digital payment infrastructure.

The 2024 clean-up also reflected in the country’s teledensity, which dropped from 103.66 per cent to 76.08 per cent. Internet subscriptions dipped as well, falling by 24.6 million to 139.3 million users, a 14.98 per cent contraction.
Despite the overall decline in subscriber numbers, the NCC noted that network reach continued to grow. Nigeria now enjoys more than 95 per cent cellular coverage, while broadband penetration inched upward from 43.71 to 44.43 per cent, powered by widespread access to 3G (89 per cent), 4G (84 per cent) and 5G (13 per cent) services.

Fresh industry data, however, indicate that the market is gradually rebounding. As of September 2025, active mobile subscriptions had risen to 173.54 million, up from 171.57 million in August. Internet usage on GSM networks also inched higher to 140.36 million, while teledensity improved to 80.05 per cent, signalling a steady return to growth following the turbulent clean-up period.