Nigerians Call Out Telcos For ‘Sabotaging Planned Protest By Restricting Internet Access, Using NIN As Excuse’

Nigerians have accused telecommunication companies of disconnecting subscribers to frustrate the #EndBadGovernance protest against economic hardship in Nigeria. The planned protest, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August.

In a statement shared by Channels TV, Human rights lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa warned that telcos should not attempt to sabotage the protest by restricting internet access among displeased citizens. He said the contract between telecom companies and their subscribers should not be tampered with arbitrarily.

In his words:

“For the past few days, some telecom companies have been disconnecting their subscribers for flimsy and untenable reasons. Some allege lack of NIN registration or linking while some didn’t give any reason at all,” Adegboruwa said.

“This action is coming on the heels of the proposed struggle of the people against hunger, poverty, suffering and the suffocating economic policies of the Tinubu administration. From all indications, it would seem that the underlying target of the telecom companies is to limit the reach of their customers in order to restrict access and thus frustrate the protests.”

The senior lawyer urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to probe the alleged disconnection of subscribers by telcos for flimsy reasons like lack of NIN registration or linking. He said sufficient information and opportunity should be given for subscribers to remedy any alleged breach or error.

In line with the lawyer’s observation, many Nigerians reported slower internet access, with many lines getting blocked on the basis of NIN linkage. Some of these persons noted the suspiciousness of the situation as they had previously linked their NINs to their mobile SIMs.

Another social media user identified as Attah Akor wrote:

“MTN dey mass block people sims for not Linking it with NIN few days to the protest”

In another related development,  United Bank for Africa (UBA Group) allegedly froze the account of a non-governmental body known as the ‘Take It Back Movement‘ to stifle its activities, allegedly on the orders of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and Department of State Security (DSS). This was contained in a letter published on Friday, July 26, 2024, by the counsel of the body, Inibehe Effiong Chambers.

MTN Nigeria and other Telecos are yet to address the allegations of trying to sabotaging the planned protests.

Read More: 

• Paris 2024: Nigeria’s Aruna and Omotayo Eliminated from Olympics Table Tennis
• Students Boo Governor Abiodun At Babcock University Convocation Over Anti-Protest Remarks

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