What happened?
Over the weekend, many MTN users took to social media to complain about their barred phone lines without prior notice.
MTN disconnected the lines days ahead of the July 31 deadline set by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for telecom companies to complete the NIN-SIM linkage.
Several MTN users insisted they had linked their NIN to their mobile phones but still got their lines barred.
Customers storm MTN offices
On Monday, July 29, photos and videos showed long queues of aggrieved customers at various MTN offices nationwide.
MTN experience centres in Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Osun, Delta, and other states received a throng of customers demanding the unblocking of their lines, especially since they had completed the NIN linking process long ago.
In Lagos, the situation escalated at MTN’s Festac office when frustrated customers tore down the office’s iron fence. A video showing the situation surfaced on social media.
Reacting to the development, Lagos police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin condemned the attack and said normalcy had been restored.
“The DPO Festac and his men responded immediately. They succeeded in restoring normalcy and are still on the ground to maintain peace.”
Nigerians react on social media
Meanwhile, some Nigerians linked MTN’s move to the upcoming nationwide protest against bad governance, claiming it was a plot by the government to disrupt the protest.
Omoyele Sowore, one of the conveners of the #EndbadgovernanceinNigeria protest, encouraged his followers to call out telecom companies if they experienced service disruption ahead of the protests.
NCC orders reactivation of barred lines
On Monday, July 29, the NCC issued a statement directing all telecom operators to reactivate the disconnected lines.
“Considering the challenges the blockages have caused, the commission has directed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend, given the short time available for consumers to verify their NINs with their SIMs,” the statement read.
This is a developing story.
