The National Identity Management Commission has announced the successful migration of all telecommunications firms in Nigeria to its upgraded National Identification Number verification platform, known as NINAuth.
The identity regulator said in a note on Wednesday that the development would enhance data protection, improve service delivery, and strengthen digital trust across the country’s identity ecosystem.
Director of IT/IDD at NIMC, Lanre Yusuf, said telecom operators are now fully integrated with the platform, enabling uninterrupted identity verification services.
“This milestone reflects our commitment to securing digital identity and empowering Nigerians with greater control over their personal data,” Yusuf said.
Built in-house by NIMC, the NINAuth platform provides more secure and seamless access to identity verification services. It supports smoother user authentication, ensures better privacy standards, and simplifies access to telecom and digital services.
Head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, Dr Kayode Adegoke, said the platform gives NIN holders more control over how their data is accessed.
“The goal is to place control of identity data in the hands of the rightful owners, the Nigerian people,” Adegoke told The PUNCH.
He advised members of the public experiencing issues with SIM registration, swaps, migration, or retrieval (“welcome back”) to contact their telecommunications providers directly for resolution.
The announcement comes after weeks of service disruption across telecom firms caused by the migration process. Around June 26, 2025, NIMC began transitioning to NINAuth, a more secure system required to verify NINs for SIM registration, swaps, replacements, and number porting.
Technical issues during the migration rendered the previous platform unreliable, forcing operators including MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile to suspend SIM-related services for over three weeks. This affected not just mobile communication but also digital banking and other services tied to phone numbers.
Throughout the outage, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria urged customers to delay SIM-related requests, while working with the Nigerian Communications Commission and NIMC to restore access.
NIMC maintained that the platform was functional and said operators needed to complete integration with the new system.
With the migration now completed, the Commission reiterated its commitment to delivering secure and user-friendly digital identity services, and assured that its verification and authentication platforms remain fully operational.
