The Nigerian telecom operator Globacom Ltd., also known as Glo, is allegedly reassigning active National Identity Number (NIN)-linked SIM cards to newly registered subscribers.
On Wednesday, a Glo user complained that his father had unexpectedly lost access to his phone number.
Affected subscribers include one who has 20 years of Glo usage under their belt.
Photographer Dewunmi Lagos announced on social media that his father’s Glo SIM had mysteriously ceased functioning in the second week of July.
Read also: Telecoms report a 2.4% drop in voice subscriptions due to NIN/SIM linkage
“For more than 20 years, my dad has been using his Glo SIM. When the sim first came out, he paid N11,000 for it. When he returned from a six-month trip, his Glo SIM was still active as of last Tuesday, Dewunmi said on X.
“When he arrived at their Ikorodu office today, they informed him that Abass Yusuf, a person, had re-registered the line in Abuja in 2014 and had been using it ever since. They claimed that my dad could not retrieve his phone number after connecting it to his NIN.
“I’m attempting to figure out how this man’s number was routed to another by a network glitch just last week.” He laments.
Another Glo user complaint
Another Glo user, Simeon Awodele, stated on Facebook on Wednesday that Glo informed him he had lost control of his SIM card.
Awodele maintained that he had used his NIN to register the SIM card.
Another commenter mentioned that MTN, a different cellular provider, sold off their SIM card.
They did not offer any other details regarding this.
Since then, Dewunmi has elaborated on his father’s SIM in greater detail. He stated that the SIM card had never been inactive for over two days and attached images of the Glo SIM card packaging.
Only when a SIM card is dormant for ninety days, do Nigerian telecom firms lock it.
Read also: Telcos seek for NCC’s intervention
Seeking Resolution: User Legal actions against Glo’s Silence
According to Dewunmi, Glo had yet to respond to his communications on social media. He has now gone to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to seek remedy.
On his Facebook page, Dewunmi declared, “I’m officially filing a complaint with FCCPC, NCC, and the lawyers will begin their court process.”
“This number was registered, and all the necessary information was documented with Glo in their Lagos office. How did Abbas Yusuf get hold of this number and register it between Tuesday and today? Glo keeps telling us that the person registered it in 2014. They will explain this to where I’m filing my complaints.
“My dad’s number appears on all of his paperwork and other records related to his life. Do you want him to discard that?”
Glo’s alarming practice of reallocating active NIN-linked SIMs has left long-term customers like Dewunmi Lagos’ father worried about their mobile services’ security and reliability.
Customers should document their complaints and pursue legal recourse through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) as more consumers voice their grievances. Glo must fix these concerns and ensure no customer’s phone number is unjustly relocated to maintain trust and service integrity.