How to Easily Link your NIN and MTN Online 2024

Your MTN SIM has been blocked, or you now have an ultimatum to link your NIN to it to avoid deactivation. The next question you ask yourself is how to link your NIN to your MTN line.

The ‘NCC-NIN-Telecoms’ saga has been on the rampage for a while now. You will be aware of this if you are a Nigerian resident.

It has been an intense battle since the federal government issued a directive to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) that required them to mandate telecommunication services providers to mandate their subscribers to link their NIN to their mobile numbers.

The battle was even more intense when the NCC launched the directive, which was a two-week ultimatum. During this period, the NCC suspended telecom providers in Nigeria from registering or activating new lines.

Also, during the two-week period, they were to mandate that their subscribers link their NIN to their lines to avoid deactivation.

However, due to several complications and the directives’ obvious impracticality within the stipulated time, it became expedient to extend the deadline. NCC had to order a quick reactivation of lines affected by the NIN-SIM verification issue.

The grace period ensured that telecom subscribers of various networks in Nigeria (MTN, Airtel, Glo, or Etisalat) had ample time to register for their NIN if they had not and also linked the NIN to their lines when they did.

For this article, we will discuss how to link your NIN to your MTN line.

What Is the Importance of the NIN?
- Importance of the NIN According to the NIMC
How to Link Your NIN to Your MTN Line Online
- 1. Check if Your NIN Is Linked to Your MTN Line
- 2. Link Your NIN
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Recommendations
References

What Is the Importance of the NIN?

Many Nigerians still don’t understand why the federal government, through the NCC, issued the directive to link their NIN to their respective lines.

Many have still not forgiven the NCC for the directive. Whether or not you want to forgive the NCC is totally up to you, based on your discretion.

However, before we delve into today’s topic, we will examine the significance of the NIN and why the federal government issued the directive for all telecom subscribers to link their respective NINs to their lines.

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) issues the National Identification Number (NIN), an 11-digit unique identification number, to Nigerian citizens and legal residents upon registration in the National Identity database.

The NIN is crucial for several reasons, some of which are listed below:

It enables secure identity verification across multiple sectors
It links personal records and facilitates seamless access to banking, mobile communications, and government benefits.
Additionally, it enhances fraud prevention and improves governmental efficiency by streamlining processes and minimizing obstacles.

It is not enough to talk about linking your NIN to your MTN line without really understanding why you are doing it.

In essence, the NIN provides a secure and verified identity, making accessing important services and opportunities easier.

In the next section, we will check out what the NIMC says about the NIN on their website.

Also read: How to Change or Correct your NIN Details with the 2024 NIMC Self Service

Importance of the NIN According to the NIMC

Below, we will examine what the NIMC says about the NIN on their official website.

If you are asking how to link your NIN to your MTN line but are still confused about its relevance, check out the excerpts below from the NIMC’s website:

One can see how important the NIN is to an individual:

it is used for retrieving your captured information from the National Identity Database
your matching information associated with your NIN can then be used to verify that you are who you say you are.

To the society as a whole, the NINs issued

help provide accurate records about actual living/dead persons in every region of the country
help keep track of actual transactions as well as movement of people within and out of the country
help confirm which individuals need particular Government services, e.g. age and retirement confirmation for pensioners.

When it comes to access to vital services (like passport issuance, banking services, land transactions, insurance services, pension, health insurance, payment of taxes, voter’s registration, consumer credits, and all Government services), your NIN becomes necessary for:

cutting down the time needed for verifying documents to properly identify you to access the services you require
reducing errors in the allocation of services to the right people
prevention of fraud (419), where someone else impersonates you
verification of the real identity of other people you go into financial or business transactions with or even people you wish to employ, such as house help
ensuring you are correctly identified when receiving health services, e.g. verifying the actual blood types of blood donors at hospitals
verification of voter eligibility during elections.

Visit https://nimc.gov.ng/ for more information.

Now to today’s topic: How to link your NIN to your MTN line online.

How to Link Your NIN to Your MTN Line Online

Now that you know the importance of the NIN and why you need to link it to your line, let’s discuss the steps involved in linking your NIN to your MTN line online.

Also read: Latest Update on How to Link NIN with Glo, Airtel and 9mobile Lines in 2024

Follow the steps below to link your NIN to your MTN line:

1. Check if Your NIN Is Linked to Your MTN Line

You must confirm the linkage status before linking your NIN to your MTN line. Has your line been previously linked or not? Follow the steps below:

Visit the MTN website at https://nin.mtn.ng/
Scroll down a bit. You will find 4 buttons: ‘Check your NIN Link Status,’ ‘Link your NIN,’ ‘NIN Enrolment Centers,’ and ‘SIM Registration.’
Click on the ‘Check your NIN Link Status’ option.
Enter your MTN number, whose NIN linkage status you want to verify.
Enter your email. MTN will send your OTP to this address, so be sure to submit an address that is readily accessible to you.
Check the terms and conditions box to grant your consent.
Click the ‘Check NIN Status’ button below the T&C box.
MTN will send an OTP to the email you had earlier submitted. Get the OTP and submit it when you get the prompt on the website.
The MTN website will instantly show your NIN linkage status. If you have successfully linked your NIN to your line, you will see an image like the one below:

How to Link Your NIN to Your MTN Line Online

Otherwise, you will see this:

Proceed to the next step below if your NIN has yet to be linked to your MTN line.

Also read: How to Check NIN Number Easily 2024

2. Link Your NIN

If, from the last step, your NIN linkage status didn’t display a message like the one in the first picture above, you will need to follow the steps below to link your NIN to your MTN line online.

As you can see in the second image, MTN’s website will prompt you to enter your NIN to link it to your line. Follow the on-screen prompts, and you will get a successful linkage.

If the MTN website prompts you for a virtual NIN at any point, create one and submit it.

There you have it! Linking your NIN to your MTN number online isn’t an arduous task. But what if you prefer to link your NIN via the USSD option? Follow the steps below:

Also read: NCC and NIMC Partner to Make NIN-SIM Linkage Easy

Linking Your NIN to Your MTN Line via USSD

Follow these steps to link your NIN to your MTN line via the USSD option:

Dial *996# on your MTN line. You will get the prompts below

How to Link Your NIN to Your MTN Line Using USSD

Select option 1

Submit your NIN or VNIN by submitting option 1.
Follow the on-screen prompts from there.

And that’s it! That’s how to navigate the USSD option.

Also read: Nigerians Protest at MTN Offices Nationwide Over NIN-SIM Link Issues

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the USSD code to link my NIN to my MTN line?

The USSD code is *996#

What is a VNIN and how can I generate one?

The VNIN is a tokenized version of your original NIN. It stands for Virtual National Identification Number. To learn more and also generate a VNIN, follow the instructions on this page

Will MTN deactivate my line if I don’t link my NIN to it?

Yes, MTN and other telecom providers in Nigeria will deactivate the line of every subscriber that doesn’t link their NIN to their respective lines.

Conclusion

Every Nigerian resident must link their NIN to their lines, irrespective of their network providers. Defaulters will have their SIM barred by their telecom service provider.

If you have read thus far, you will have gotten the details of how to go about this simple procedure.

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