Nigeria has given telecommunication providers an extra eight weeks to add valid national ID numbers to every Sim card registered in the country, according to a statement from the Nigeria Communications Commission.

The providers originally had two weeks, until 30 December, to make the changes before the deadline was extended for a first time. The latest deadline is 6 April.

Adding the numbers to the some 200 million active mobile phone lines is a daunting task, one made more difficult by the fact that not all Nigerians have a national ID number.

MTN has said it would take six months to become fully compliant with the order.

Nigeria launched its Sim card registration rules in an attempt to stop insurgents and criminals from using unregistered Sims.  — Reported Tife Owolabi, with writing by Libby George, (c) 2021 Reuters