Federal High Court orders extension of NIN-sim linkage

A Lagos Federal High Court has ordered extension of the deadline to link National Identification Number (NIN) with sim by two months.

Justice Maureen Onyetenu ordered the extension while delivering a ruling in a suit filed by Monday Ubani, former vice-president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

In December 2020, Ubani filed a suit against the federal government, attorney-general of the federation, Nigerian Communications Commission, and minister of communication and digital economy over the initial deadline of December 30 2020 set for the NIN-sim registration.

The human rights lawyer had argued the initial two-week of December 16 to December 30, 2020 deadline issued by the federal government to telecommunication operators for NIN registration will infringe on the fundamental human rights of Nigerians and expose them to COVID-19.

The new ruling granted all the prayers of Ubani and ordered a two-month extension effective from March 23.