Glo Reassigns Active SIMs Linked to NIN to New Users

Globacom Ltd., the Nigerian telecommunications company known as Glo, is reassigning active ’ National Identification Number (NIN)-linked SIM cards to new users.

PulseNets saw some subscribers complain about suddenly losing access to their phone numbers on Wednesday.

One of the affected subscribers has been a user for 20 years.

Dewunmi Lagos, a photographer, took to social media to announce that his father’s SIM stopped working in the second week of July for no reason.

“My dad has been using his Glo SIM for over 20 years. He bought the sim for N11,000 when it came out. He travelled out for six months and came back; his Glo SIM was still working until last week Tuesday,” Dewunmi posted on X.

“He got to their office in Ikorodu today and they told him someone called Abass Yusuf has re-registered the line since 2014 in Abuja and he has been using it. Saying my popman can’t get his number back, and this is after linking his NIN to it.

“I’m trying to understand how a network glitch of just last week routed this man’s number to another.”

On Wednesday, Simeon Awodele, another Glo subscriber, posted on Facebook that Glo told him he had forfeited ownership of his SIM.

Awodele insisted that he had registered the SIM with his NIN.

Someone else indicated in the comment section that MTN, another telecommunications company, sold off their SIM. They did not provide more information about this.

Dewunmi has since shared more details about his father’s SIM. He included pictures of the SIM card packaging and claimed that the SIM had never been inactive for over two days.

Telecommunications companies operating in Nigeria only lock SIMs whenever they stay inactive for 90 days.

Dewunmi said that company had not acknowledged his messages on social media. He has now approached the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for recourse.

I’m hoping and still waiting on your response as to who handed over an active line to someone else from your office since May 24, 2014 and the line decided to go off on Tuesday last week. Only to be told that the number has been handed over to one person.

— Dewunmi Lagos (@Dewunmilagos) July 17, 2024

“I’m officially filing a complaint with FCCPC, NCC, and the lawyers will begin their court process,” Dewunmi announced on his Facebook page.

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“This number was registered and all the necessary information were[sic] documented with Glo in their Lagos office. How Abbas Yusuf got hold of this number and registered it within Tuesday and today and Glo keeps telling us that the person registered it in 2014 will either be explained to where I’m filing my complaints.

“This number is what my dad has on all his documents and anything that has to do with his life. You want him to throw that away?”