MTN Network Blackout Hits three states, Leaving Millions Cut Off
SaharaReporters confirmed the development through multiple sources, including residents and students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Aservice outage affecting MTN Nigeria has hit Sokoto State and parts of Kebbi and Zamfara, leaving possibly millions of residents stranded and frustrated.
SaharaReporters confirmed the development through multiple sources, including residents and students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Some affected students told SaharaReporters that they had no option but to switch to Airtel. Those who did not have Airtel SIMs said they had been completely cut off from communication.
“Yes, of course, it’s true. There has been no network since yesterday (Thursday) around 8pm,” Shehu Muhammad, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member currently serving in Sokoto, told SaharaReporters.
SaharaReporters further learnt that the issue extends beyond Sokoto.
Confirming this, a resident of Zamfara State, Mujahid Aliyu Morai, said: “Not only Sokoto, but also some parts of Zamfara State. One of the affected places is Morai, my home town.”
Another resident, Usman S. Auwal, noted that Mafara town in Zamfara State was also affected.
According to Auwal, there has been no MTN network service in Mafara since Thursday.
A Kebbi resident, Jafar Hamid, confirmed that some communities in Birnin Kebbi, the capital of Kebbi State, are also affected.
Aminu, a student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, also spoke to SaharaReporters about the situation’s impact on students.
“I can’t use my MTN line now; I’m only using Airtel to chat. In fact, there was a student here who was affected because of this issue. He couldn’t go home last night (he could not leave campus) because of MTN network. He wanted to run (do online) transfer, but no one to share their hotspot with him. So he slept in class inside the campus,” Aminu said.
SaharaReporters also tried to contact at least four MTN users in Sokoto, but each call returned the same automated message: “Switched off,” an indication that there was no MTN network service at their locations.
As of the time of filing this report, MTN Nigeria has yet to issue an official statement regarding the blackout, and the cause of the disruption remains unclear.
Earlier in May, SaharaReporters reported that a similar incident happened in Kogi State.
Reacting, the Kogi State Utility Infrastructure Management and Compliance Agency (KUIMCA) attributed the shutdown to the telecom company’s failure to comply fully with the rules stipulated in the official gazette guiding its operations in the state.
The DG of KUIMCA said: “In my assumption of office last August, I went through their files and discovered that they have not fully complied with the rules guiding their operations in the state. I called them for a discussion where they complained of being overbilled concerning the area of the state covered by their optic fibre.
“I went with them for verification exercise to assess their claim which took about four days and we found out they were even covering more areas than they claimed.”
“We asked they to go and make the necessary payments but MTN refused. That is why we sealed off their facilities after obtaining court order to do so,” Isa added.
