A working Nigerian number is the second thing you need in Lagos, after your NIN. Banks send codes to it, deliveries call it, and every app you sign up for asks for it.
The networks
Four networks cover Lagos: MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9mobile. MTN and Airtel have the widest and most consistent coverage. Glo is often cheaper for data. 9mobile is the smallest.
Coverage is local rather than national in any useful sense - one network is strong on your street and weak at your office. Ask people who live and work where you will, and expect to end up with two SIMs. Most Lagosians carry two, for exactly this reason: outages tend to hit one operator at a time.
Getting a SIM
Buy it at the network’s own shop or an authorised dealer, not from a street table. You need your NIN, and the line is registered to it with your fingerprints and photograph.
A SIM registered to somebody else is a SIM you do not control. It can be barred, reclaimed or traced to them, and the bank codes that come to it are theirs as much as yours.
Linking your NIN
Every line must be linked to a NIN, and a line that is not gets barred. Dial
*346# from the line to see what the network holds, and link through the
network’s app or a service centre if it has nothing.
You may link up to 4 SIMs across all networks to one NIN.
If you are not Nigerian
Foreign nationals living in Nigeria can enrol for a NIN, and the networks register SIMs against it. A visitor without one is usually registered against a passport, with a visa; ask at the network’s own shop, because the rules for visitors have changed more than once and the dealer on the corner may not know the current ones.
Data
Data is sold in bundles, by size and validity, and every network has dozens. A few things that hold whichever you choose:
- Buy bundles, never pay as you go. Out-of-bundle data is charged at a rate that empties a balance in minutes.
- Check what a “night” or “social” bundle actually covers before buying it as your main plan.
- Buy airtime and data from your bank app rather than scratch cards. It is instant and you keep a record.
- Watch for auto-renewal. Some bundles renew themselves; the network’s short code or app shows what is active.
Prices move with inflation and with the regulator, so they are not quoted here. Compare the networks’ own sites the week you sign up.
Internet at home
Mobile data is how most of Lagos gets online, but for a household that works from home it gets expensive. The options:
| Option | What it is | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| A mobile router (MiFi) | A small box on a 4G or 5G SIM | Quick to set up; the bundle is the cost |
| Fibre | A line to the building | Fast and unmetered where it exists, which is mostly on the island and in newer estates |
| Fixed wireless | An antenna on the roof | Available in more places than fibre |
| Satellite | A dish, with no ground line | Works almost anywhere; the equipment is the large cost |
Before you sign a lease, ask the neighbours which provider actually works in the building. It is the question an agent cannot answer.
When the power goes, so may the signal
A network mast runs on mains power and a generator. A long outage in an area can take the nearest mast down with it. A second SIM on a different network, and a phone power bank, are the cheap insurance.
Calling home
Calling abroad on a Nigerian line is expensive. Most people use WhatsApp or another internet calling app over data or Wi-Fi. Nigeria’s international dialling code, for people calling you, is +234: a Lagos mobile number written 0803 123 4567 is dialled from abroad as +234 803 123 4567, dropping the first 0.