The National Communications Authority (NatCA) has intensified a nationwide campaign urging mobile phone subscribers in Sierra Leone to link their National Identification Numbers (NINs) to their SIM cards before the 1 November 2026 deadline.

Table Of Content

Coordinated national campaign
Focus on subscriber identification
Limits of the integration exercise

The campaign, intensified on 20 October 2026, includes public sensitization, stakeholder engagement and media outreach focused on the requirements and importance of the integration exercise.

Coordinated national campaign

NatCA said the effort is being carried out in coordination with the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), mobile network operators, relevant Government institutions and media organizations.

Through the coordinated approach, the participating institutions are distributing information about the registration requirements and encouraging subscribers who have not completed the process to contact their respective mobile network operators.

NatCA’s Director General, Amara Brewah, described NIN–SIM integration as an important step towards strengthening cybersecurity, addressing telecommunications-related fraud and safeguarding national security, according to the authority’s position on the exercise.

Focus on subscriber identification

The authority said the initiative forms part of broader regulatory efforts to improve subscriber identification and accountability across the telecommunications sector.

NatCA said stronger identification procedures are intended to reduce opportunities for identity theft, impersonation, SIM-related fraud and other cyber-enabled criminal activities. It also emphasized that effective subscriber identification is an important element of a secure and accountable digital communications environment.

The authority linked the campaign to Sierra Leone’s growing reliance on mobile telecommunications for financial transactions, business activities, public services and everyday communication.

Limits of the integration exercise

NatCA has also acknowledged that NIN–SIM integration cannot independently eliminate cybercrime. The authority said its contribution to a safer telecommunications environment depends on effective identification procedures being supported by data protection safeguards, secure registration systems and public education.

NatCA’s position is anchored in the principle that cybersecurity is closely connected to national security. It has warned that weak subscriber identification systems can create opportunities for fraudulent SIM registration, identity theft, impersonation and other telecommunications-related offences.

Subscribers who have not yet completed the integration are being encouraged to contact their mobile network operators and finish the process before the 1 November deadline.