By Omowumi Omotosho
On Monday, a group of irate customers dismantled the fence of an MTN Nigeria office located in Festac town, Lagos.
The disruption occurred when subscribers crowded the MTN office to complain about the recent deactivation of their telephone lines by the telecommunications company.
The issue of sim deactivation has led many Nigerians to flock to various telecommunication offices across the country.
Over the weekend, numerous individuals found their phone lines unusable due to the failure to link their national identification number (NIN) with their subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. This action was part of the NIN-SIM linkage policy mandated by the federal government.
A video circulating on social media shows angry customers tearing down the fence at the Festac MTN office. Reports indicate that many subscribers were unable to enter the premises because it was already packed with other customers.
Addressing the situation, Lagos police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed that officers from Festac had restored order at the MTN office.
In response to the turmoil, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has instructed telecom operators to immediately reconnect all lines blocked due to the NIN-SIM verification exercise.
The NIN-SIM linkage initiative started in December 2020 following a directive from the federal government, requiring telecom companies to deactivate unregistered SIM cards and those not linked to NINs. The initial deadline was extended to July 31 to allow consumers additional time to verify their NIN details properly.
