Device Checker: Nigeria introduces app to simplify phone verification

Nigeria Introduces Phone Verification App

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has developed a mobile application that allows authorised industry stakeholders to scan phones’ International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers and upload device information to its verification platform. The regulator is stepping up efforts to enforce equipment approval requirements.

The commission announced the development at a media briefing on Thursday when it said the application is designed to simplify compliance for manufacturers, importers, distributors and phone dealers.

The app forms part of the NCC’s Device Checker initiative, which allows consumers to check whether devices have received regulatory approval before purchase. The commission says the wider platform is intended to help curb the circulation of counterfeit, cloned, unauthorised and other non-compliant devices in Nigeria.

TechCabal’s analysis of the device verification system on October 20, 2026, had examined how the country’s complex phone distribution network could complicate enforcement. Devices move through manufacturers, major importers, regional distributors and smaller retailers before reaching consumers, making it difficult to establish responsibility when a device fails regulatory checks.

DEVICE CHEKER — Fairly used devices in an informal market sometimes lack documentation. Source: Gettyimages

The new application provides an additional tool for collecting device information across this chain.

The Commission says its “user-friendly” Device Checker application “enables authorised stakeholders to quickly scan device IMEIs and upload information directly to the platform.”

In practice, the app is intended to improve efficiency and ease compliance forauthorised stakeholders. This gives the commission a way to collect device information from businesses across the supply chain and check compliance with its Type Approval requirements.

The regulator also reported progress in licensing and regularising phone dealers in Kano State, alongside sensitisation engagements with importers and other industry participants in Lagos and elsewhere.

The real measure is whether the app can help the regulator trace non-compliant phones back through the supply chain.

Airtel Africa has appointed Goriola Bakare as Home Broadband Experience Lead for the continent, effective October 1, 2026, after he led Airtel Nigeria’s home broadband business and completed a six-month secondment to Bharti Airtel in India.

The appointment comes as Airtel Africa expands its broadband business beyond traditional mobile data services to capture rising demand for home connectivity.

According to Airtel Africa’s 2026 annual report, the company ended its 2025/26 financial year with 903,000 home broadband customers, an 86% increase from the previous year. Home broadband revenue grew by 119% in constant currency, while average monthly usage reached 195GB per customer.

“In his new role, Bakare will help shape Airtel Africa’s Group Home Broadband experience agenda, working with operating companies to strengthen customer acquisition,” the telco said. The aim is to “improve digital engagement, support customer retention and develop scalable commercial models for broadband growth.”

The figures point to a fast-growing business that is becoming more important to Airtel Africa’s growth strategy. The group is investing in fibre and 5G infrastructure, expanding sales channels and digitising customer onboarding and service delivery to attract and retain subscribers.

Nigeria is part of that expansion. In its Nigeria mobile services report, Airtel Africa said its home broadband business continued to record strong growth during the 2025/26 financial year. The company also reported that smartphone penetration in Nigeria rose to 54.9%, from 49.6% in the previous year.

“The appointment represents a further step in Bakare’s career at Airtel,” said the telecom. “Where he has held senior responsibilities spanning commercial strategy, product development, digital innovation and business performance.”

Bakare’s appointment places him in a position to help translate that growth into a more consistent customer experience across the group’s markets. His responsibilities include identifying commercial practices that can be adapted across operating companies, improving digital customer journeys and supporting a scalable home broadband operating framework.

Before his new role, Bakare served as Acting Director of Home Broadband Business at Airtel Nigeria from October 2024 to March 2026. He oversaw revenue growth, product strategy, customer acquisition and retention, customer lifecycle management and strategic partnerships.

From April to September 2026, he was seconded to Bharti Airtel in India through the company’s Talent Exchange Programme. He worked with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to study the Indian business’s broadband strategies, operating models and customer experience practices, with a view to applying relevant lessons across Airtel Africa’s markets.

Bakare joined Airtel in 2009 after working in financial services, including roles at Skye Bank and Pacific Holdings. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance and an MBA in Strategic Management from Babcock University, Nigeria, and is an alumnus of Airtel Africa’s inaugural India-Africa Global Accelerator Programme.

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