Crowds besiege MTN Nigeria offices over barred lines

Crowds have gathered at MTN Nigeria offices across various parts of the country due to the barring of their phone lines. On Sunday, numerous Nigerians took to social media platforms to express their frustration, reporting that their MTN lines had been barred from making or receiving calls.

Reports indicate that telecommunication companies began a mass disconnection of telephone lines not linked with national identification numbers (NINs) late Saturday.

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Additionally, many 9mobile subscribers have been unable to receive or make calls since Saturday night.

This restriction comes ahead of a planned nationwide protest set for August 1.

Large, angry crowds have been reported outside MTN offices in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oyo, Kano, and Lagos.

The disconnection has been attributed to the July 31 deadline set by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for telcos to bar all subscribers whose NINs have not been linked to their phone lines. This deadline was previously extended from April 15, 2024, to July 31, 2024.

Despite this, many subscribers claim their lines have been blocked even though they have successfully linked their SIMs with their NINs. On February 29, the NCC announced that 45 million subscribers would be barred for failing to implement the linkage.