Nigeria's NCC urges phone users to check regulatory approval

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Regulation; 13 October 2026; 767 views

Regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has advised phone owners to check, via a USSD code, whether their devices have received regulatory approval for use in Nigeria.

Devices that fail a follow-up verification process could face disconnection from Nigerian telecommunications networks after 30 days.

The measure is linked to the NCC’s Device Management System (DMS) and Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), which are designed to identify mobile devices and support efforts to prevent the use of unapproved handsets on Nigerian networks.

As we reported at the time, the NCC introduced the DMS and CEIR, aimed at managing and regulating mobile devices accessing the country’s communication networks, in 2024.

Text messages warning users about potential disconnection have reportedly been sent to owners of devices from multiple brands. Mobile phone owners who receive verification warnings can dial a code to check their device status.

The commission’s initiative is part of continuing efforts to target counterfeit phones, combat phone theft, prevent the use of cloned or stolen devices in criminal activities, and improve telecommunications service quality.

The system uses International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, unique identifiers assigned to mobile devices, to identify handsets and support regulatory monitoring. Through the initiative, the NCC also intends to strengthen compliance among phone importers, manufacturers and dealers. Consumers who discover that their devices have failed verification are being advised to contact the seller or the NCC.

As the Guardian news service points out, type approval for mobile phones in Nigeria is a mandatory certification process managed by the NCC under Section 132(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. It helps to ensure mobile devices function properly on local mobile networks without causing dropped calls, poor service or signal interference. It also helps protect users from counterfeit or substandard handsets that may pose health and safety risks, such as high electromagnetic radiation.

One big problem for the NCC is imported devices. It seems that some devices being brought into Nigeria have not gone through the required type-approval process. For years, many Nigerians have relied on phones brought in from other countries to access models unavailable or more expensive through official channels.

A registration pathway is being designed for legitimate owners of imported devices. Details of this process are expected to be published soon.

This is one of a number of attempts by the NCC to manage or record phone ownership. Earlier this decade the NCC put into effect a registration process for subscriber identification module (SIM) subscribers. According to some estimates, this took at least four years.