Nigeria’s House of Representatives has called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to extend the waiting period before inactive phone numbers are reassigned to new users from the current timeline to 18 months.
Lawmakers say the move will strengthen compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act and better protect subscribers from fraud, identity theft, and wrongful criminal accusations linked to recycled SIM cards.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Billy Osawaru during Tuesday’s plenary. He proposed that the additional six months be used to publicly list inactive SIMs slated for reassignment in national newspapers and to notify law enforcement agencies periodically, improving transparency and traceability.
Under existing NCC guidelines, telecom operators can deactivate SIM cards after 180 days of inactivity and reassign them after one year. However, this often occurs without notifying the previous owner.
While telecom operators argue that holding inactive numbers is costly, lawmakers insist that commercial interests should not outweigh subscriber safety.
The House warned that poorly managed SIM recycling has exposed Nigerians to fraud, extortion, and even wrongful criminal allegations when reassigned numbers are linked to illegal activities.
There are also concerns that recycled numbers may still be tied to sensitive personal data such as Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and National Identity Numbers (NIN), creating serious risks of identity theft and financial fraud.
Following the motion, the House mandated its Committees on Communications and Commerce to engage the NCC, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and other relevant agencies to review the current framework.
The committees are expected to submit recommendations within four weeks on how to strengthen subscriber protection and align telecom practices with data protection laws.
Industry experts argue that extending the waiting period alone is not enough. They recommend stronger coordination between telecom operators and financial institutions, including real-time alerts for SIM swaps or number reassignments.
They also propose that recycled numbers be automatically flagged as high-risk within banking systems, triggering safeguards such as limits on high-value USSD transactions, stricter authentication, and temporary restrictions until the new user is verified.
Although telecom operators are expected to delink recycled numbers internally, gaps remain when those numbers are still connected to external platforms like banks, email services, and government databases.
Lawmakers say addressing these gaps is critical to preventing new users from inheriting phone numbers tied to sensitive personal data, an issue that continues to undermine trust in Nigeria’s digital and financial systems.
