MTN Nigeria has announced the closure of all its offices nationwide starting from July 30.
A representative of the telecommunications company confirmed this on Tuesday, attributing the decision to the vandalism of its offices by disgruntled customers whose lines were disconnected in accordance with the government’s NIN-SIM linkage policy.
On July 27, numerous Nigerians reported being unable to make or receive calls after their lines were barred due to the failure to link their national identification numbers (NINs) with their SIM cards.
On Monday, a group of angry customers tore down the fence of an MTN Nigeria office in Festac town, Lagos. This incident followed subscribers flooding MTN offices to complain about the blocking of their lines.
Offices of other telecommunications firms in various regions, including Oyo, FCT, and Kano, were also crowded by subscribers facing similar issues.
Amid the turmoil, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) instructed telecom operators to temporarily reconnect all phone lines that were blocked as part of the NIN-SIM verification process.
The NIN-SIM linkage policy was initiated in December 2020 when the federal government directed telecom companies to bar unregistered SIM cards and those not linked to NINs. Since December 2023, the NCC has extended the deadline several times, with the latest deadline set for April 15, 2024, for the full network barring of subscribers with four or fewer SIMs having unverified NIN details. This deadline was later extended to July 31, 2024, to give consumers more time to ensure their NIN details are properly verified.
