MTN telecommunications have resumed operations nationwide after a shutdown on Tuesday due to vandalism.
An MTN staff member confirmed to Naija Traffic on Wednesday, “Yes, the connect stores have resumed operations.”
On July 27, many Nigerians found their calls blocked after their phone lines were barred for failing to link their national identification numbers (NINs) with their SIM cards.
Subscribers flocked to MTN offices on Monday to complain about the disconnection of their lines. Other telecommunications firms’ offices in Oyo, FCT, and Kano also experienced similar crowds due to the issue.
On Tuesday, a source revealed that MTN shut down operations because some of its offices were vandalized by customers upset about the NIN-SIM linkage policy.
Amid the chaos, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) instructed telecom operators to temporarily reconnect all blocked lines involved in the NIN-SIM verification exercise. The NCC urged the public to verify their SIMs promptly to maintain service access.
The NIN-SIM linkage policy started in December 2020, requiring telecom companies to deactivate unregistered SIM cards and those not linked to NINs. Although the deadline has been extended several times, the latest was set for July 31 to allow consumers more time to verify their NIN details.
