Nigeria registers 231 million phones as it starts checking devices
Phones already on the networks are safe, the regulator says. New devices must now be verified before they can connect, to keep out counterfeits.
Abuja — Nigeria's communications regulator has registered about 231 million telecom devices as it starts a system to keep counterfeit, cloned and unapproved phones off the country's networks, Nairametrics reports.
Edoyemi Ogoh, director of technical standards and network integrity at the Nigerian Communications Commission, explained the system in Abuja.
What it means for phone users
- Devices already active on Nigerian networks were registered automatically. Their owners need do nothing.
- Phones connected before the system started will not be disconnected, even if they would fail today's standards.
- New devices must meet the commission's verification rules before they can connect.
- Anyone can check a phone by dialling 315# or using the commission's Device Checker portal; the phone's IMEI number shows on dialling #06#.
- Buyers of unverified devices should ask the seller for a replacement, and can complain on the free 315 helpline.
Why
Mr Ogoh said counterfeit and faulty devices can interfere with networks and degrade service for everyone on the same cell site. The commission is working with the Customs Service, manufacturers and importers to authenticate devices before they reach the market.
He stressed that the system is not a surveillance tool: it reads device identification only, not messages, photos, contacts or financial records.
Source: Nairametrics, reporting by Olalekan Adigun, 14 October 2026.
