When Okezie Kelechi lost his SIM card, the one he had used since his secondary school days, he didn’t think much of it.

He was shocked weeks later to find out it had been reassigned to someone else.

“I had no idea that if your SIM card has been inactive for more than three months, they will resell it,” he wrote on social media.

“They recycled my SIM card and sold it. Same number, I have had it since secondary school.”

Kelechi’s story is far from unique.

Across Nigeria, more people are waking up to the realities of what is known as SIM recycling, a process where telecommunication companies reassign inactive phone numbers to new users. While allowed under existing rules set by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the practice is now raising serious concerns over data privacy, fraud, and national security.

A regulatory gap with real-life consequences

Experts in Nigeria’s telecommunications and security sectors are increasingly warning that the NCC’s failure to establish stronger oversight of SIM recycling is endangering millions.

“Beyond the data breaches, this issue posed a big threat to national security. I have always maintained the need for a central data system in Nigeria,” said Daniel Makolo, a retired senior official of the Nigerian Immigration Service to The ICIR.

“There’s much more to this if we don’t pay attention to an appropriate central data mining system that gives us a history of each person in the country.”

Ayodele Ajayi, an engineering professor at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, explained the security risks from his own experience.

“I used to have one Airtel number, but I travelled out. Before I came back, it was reallocated to another user,” he said.

Because phone numbers are tied to Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) and National Identity Numbers (NINs), reassigning them can expose people to identity theft and financial loss.

The NCC should find a way to notify users when their numbers are at risk of being deactivated, Ajayi urged.

He also recounted an incident he witnessed at a bank, “a woman was narrating how she used to have a particular number but lost it. Somebody saw the number and started using it.

The woman said that before she could act, the person who got the number had started using it and had connived with a bank office to almost wipe out all her savings.

“Upon arriving at the bank to check her account balance, she found out that she had only N50,000 left from about N5 million she had saved up.”

Ajayi emphasised that while recycling is a practical move for telcos to manage limited number availability, more caution is needed.

“Let people know so they can migrate their data to another line, particularly now that almost every channel we use is linked to the phone number, including our bank verification number (BVN)”, he stated.

Kelechi recalled that his number was reassigned to another user despite still being active on WhatsApp.

“I used to wonder why random Hausa boys were always messaging me and calling me baby.

He added that “when I finally visited MTN office in Nigeria, I was told the line has been sold to someone else. E pain me, I no go lie.”

Another social media user Elizabeth Kandi, @DrETKandi warning others about the hidden risks of SIM inactivity alleges that when reassigned the new user can have  access to your USSD banking.

“If your Nigerian number was connected to your Nigerian bank accounts for USSD, if you didn’t use it for long, the network provider can disconnect and sell the number to someone else…but that person would be able to access your money via USSD,” Kandi wrote.

Her post underscores the growing fear that recycled numbers, still linked to sensitive services like mobile banking, can open the door to fraud and financial loss

Why do Telcos recycle SIMs?

At a virtual stakeholder meeting in April 2025, NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida acknowledged the concern noting that with the evolving landscape, it has become necessary to address emerging challenges that could undermine consumer rights.

He further noted that the Quality-of-Service Business Rules 2024 stipulate that a prepaid line without a revenue-generating event for six months must be deactivated.

This means if a prepaid SIM card goes unused for six months (i.e., no calls, texts, or data use), it must be deactivated.

If the inactivity continues for another six months, the number may be recycled/reallocated to a new user.

In Section 28 of the NCC’s draft business  it is stated that all recycled SIMs must be purged of any NIN attached  to allow a new user to link their own NIN. But real-world cases suggest that in practice, many recycled numbers are not properly sanitised before reassignment.

The business case for SIM recycling

For telecom operators, recycling isn’t just a technical choice, it’s economic.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), explained that subscribers do not have ownership rights to SIM cards in their possession, as the telecom operators pay procurement and recurring costs for each registered subscriber.

He further explained that SIM cards are “recycled” to prevent number exhaustion while reducing the cost of generating and maintaining them.

“SIM cards are reassigned to reduce the dormant subscribers, as telcos are profit-oriented organisations,” Adebayo said.

In the exercise of its powers under Section 70 of the NCC Act (2003), the commission made provisions for the development of a new numbering plan for Nigeria. Under the provision, telcos are obligated to pay a sum that is the ‘numbering plan fees’ to maintain their allocated numbers.