Mary Akanbi
1st August, 2024
MTN Nigeria has announced the temporary closure of all its offices across the country starting from July 30, following a series of vandalism incidents by disgruntled customers.
The telecommunications giant made this announcement in a post on X on Tuesday.
The closures come in response to the recent unrest triggered by the government’s NIN-SIM linkage policy, which led to the disconnection of customer lines.
However, many of those whose lines were disconnected say they’ve been linked to NIN, some multiple times.
In the wake of these disconnections, some customers expressed their frustration through violent means, including the destruction of MTN facilities.
On Monday, a particularly aggressive incident occurred in Festac Town, Lagos, where a group of enraged customers demolished the fence of an MTN office.
The Telecommunication company began mass disconnection of unlinked telephone lines on Saturday.
The restriction, which comes ahead of a planned nationwide protest set for August 1, fueled frustration among an agitated populace, further raising tension.