It may not be news that the Nigerian Government has directed that all active phone numbers in Nigeria be linked to the National Identity Number (NIN) or face deactivation. Since the directives came late last year, Nigerians have been thrown into panic. Many have forcefully obtained their NIN through the NIMC ongoing registration. Unfortunately, many more are yet to register for the NIMC NIN. However, here contains the trusted methods of linking your NIN to the four telecom service networks in Nigeria – MTN, GLO, AIRTEL and 9Mobile. In this article, we have all the available ways to link your NIN to your phone number. This became necessary when we realized that many Nigerians were yet to fully cue into this ongoing NIMC registration. Most claimed that they do not know the methods of linking their NIN to their phone numbers. Very well, here they are today. The Table of contents below contain the major issues treated in this publication.
Stages of Obtaining NIN and Linking Phone Numbers
Sadly enough, some Nigerians say they do not even know how to begin the process of registering for the National Identity Number (NIN). Furthermore, what to do with the NIN afterwards becomes a mystery. Nevertheless, this is how to begin the process if you are a first-timer Nigerian in this link-your-NIN agenda.
- Visit any of the NIMC registration centres, fill out the form for NIN capture. (When you click on the NIMC Center’s link, click on any state or country link to see the different registration centers in that region). The registration centres found in the link above covers for both within Nigeria and abroad.
- Within a short period of time, NIMC issues a registration slip which contains your new NIN. This serves as the waiting document prior to receiving the actual national identity card. However, the NIN number written on that slip is what you need. You may proceed to link your NIN to your MTN, GLO, AIRTEL or 9MOBILE phone number.
- Once you have your NIN from the temporary slip issued to you, quickly link your NIN to all your phone lines. The codes and other methods are detailed below.
Requirements when going to NIMC Office for NIN Capture
To ensure that you visit and register successfully at once, you must go with the required documents to the NIMC registration centers. For clearance of doubt, below are the list of required documents for NIN capture and registration.
- Old National ID Card
- Driver’s License
- Voter’s card (Temporary or Permanent)
- Nigerian International passport
- Certificate of Origin
- Attestation letter from a prominent ruler in your community
- Birth certificate
- Declaration of age
- Attestation letter from religious/traditional leader
- NHIS ID card
- Government staff ID card
- Registered/recognized private organization staff ID card
- School ID Card (private/public)
- Tax Clearance certificate
- Valid immigration documents
The NIMC attendant shall issue a form which you will fill out accordingly. Afterwards, they capture your fingerprints and snapshots and you are good to go. Lastly, they shall tell you when to return and pick up your National Identity Slip which contains the almighty NIN. Congratulations, you are now ready to link your NIN to any mobile number – MTN, GLO, AIRTEL, 9MOBILE.
I have got my NIN: How to Link the NIN to MTN, GLO, AIRTEL, 8MOBILE Phone Lines
Now that you have the National Identity Number (NIN), please ensure that you link all your phones numbers to your NIN. This is necessary to avoid line deactivation anytime soon. Let me take it network by network to show you how to link your NIN to all phone numbers. The methods of linking NIN to all networks in Nigeria as detailed below are complete, genuine and reliable.
How to Link your NIN to your MTN Number(s)
For MTN users, please ensure you link all your MTN lines even if they are hundred. You can link your NIN using two methods;
- short code or mobile USSD method
- SMS (Text message)
- MTN website NIN submission method
USSD or Mobile short Code to Link NIN to MTN numbers
If you wish to be quick and maybe do not use an internet phone, use these codes to link your NIN to your MTN number.
- Dial *785# on your MTN mobile phone
- input your 11 digit NIN (National Identity Number) into the space that appears
- Be careful to ensure you do not make mistakes
- then send or submit
- The system will return a message to say, ” it was successful”. Now waiting for verification by the NIMC
Using SMS (Text Message) to link your NIN to your MTN Number(s)
- Open your text message on your mobile phone and type “NIN – 11 digits NIN number”
- Send this SMS to 785
This SMS must be sent only from the particular MTN phone line you are linking NIN to.
MTN Website NIN submission Method
If you have access to the website via phone or computer, you may wish to link your NIN to your MTN numbers through MTN website as follows;
- visit the MTN NIN Submission Portal and type in the following personal details;
- First Name
- Last Name
- Middle Name (Optional)
- MTN Phone Number
- National Identity Number (NIN)
- valid Email address
- Finally, click the Submit button to finish the linking process.
How to Link your NIN to your GLO (Globacom NIN) Number(s)
The Green network provider GLO has only the SMS (Text message)platform for linking all their customer’s numbers to their NIN. Nevertheless, you could still visit any of their offices to link your NIN to your GLO numbers. For the Text message format, here is how to do it;
SMS (Text Message) for Linking NIN to GLO numbers
- Send updateNIN (put space) NIN (put space) First Name (put space) Last Name and send to 109 in a text message.
How to Link your NIN to your AIRTEL Number9s)
Airtel uses a USSD or Mobile short code method to link their customers’ phone numbers to their National Identity Numbers. Alternatively, one could still visit any offices of Airtel to link their NIN to their phone lines. Here is the procedure for USSD or mobile short code Airtel NIN linkage.
- Dial *121*1# on your Airtel Mobile SIM
- Enter your 11 digit National Identity Number (NIN)
- A message comes on screen saying “successful”
How to Link your NIN to your 9MOBILE Number(s)
Follow these steps to link your NIN to your 9Mobile phone numbers;
- Visit the 9mobile NIN Linking Platform
- Click on the green button that says “Verify and link your NIN now”
- Enter your 9Mobile phone number in the space that appears and click Next
- Fill out your names and other few details and submit.
Congratulations Nigerians. You have successfully secured your phone line by linking your National Identity Numbers to all of your phone numbers. Anytime soon, Non-linked phone numbers would be deactivated by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the arm of the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC)
What Happens Next after Linking My NIN to My Phone Numbers
At the point of successfully linking your NIN to your phone numbers (MTN, Airtel, GLO, 9Mobile), your NIN is cued in for verification by the network providers in collaboration with the NIMC. According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), NIN final verification with phone numbers would commence very soon. I
NIN / Phone Number Final Verification Has Commenced
Assuredly, the first batch of NIN numbers of millions of Nigerians registered previously had been submitted to network service providers for verification to commence. As at the time of this report, some Nigerians are beginning to receive final confirmatory messages that their NIN submission and final verification was successful. You may see the image below.
The later NIN registration batches and those still registering will subsequently e moved to network service provides for onward verification. The NIN and phone number verification is the last stage ion the NIN/phone number linking process.
I would love to attend to your questions or inquiries and also share your experience with this entire exercise. Simply use the comment spaces below. Please share this post using the social media buttons below too.
