Aggrieved subscribers went on the rampage in at least two outlets of the telecommunications giant MTN on Monday over frustrations experienced in unblocking barred phone lines.
Viral videos from the FESTAC Lagos and Ibadan branches of MTN showed huge crowds outside the offices of the telecoms provider.
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, citizens finally lost their patience and vented their anger on the building housing the company offices, by pelting it with stones to break the glasses.
A lady, clothed in the uniform of the NYSC, knelt down, pleading with the irate crowd to stop the violence.
The same scenario played out at the FESTAC office of MTN in Lagos.
The company itself had gone online to inform its subscribers steps to be taken to unblock the blocked lines.
At the Yaya Abatan, College Road, outlet, a tug of war broke out as no fewer than 300 customers jostled for spaces.
In Osogbo, angry subscribers protested what they called shabby treatments as many of them alleged they had spent many hours without being attended to.
Already there are insinuations that the blocking of the millions of the SIM cards was to frustrate distraction for the August 1 nationwide protest.
However, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, disabused such a notion.
In a statement, ALTON said: “The fact of the matter is that the harmonization exercise of the SIM Registration database and National Identity Database has been ongoing for several months. This is aimed at improving the integrity of the National SIM registration database. Customers who had their lines blocked recently are those whom their service providers found a mismatch between their records on both databases. We advise such customers to contact their service providers through communicated channels for resolution of the issue.”
“The attention of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has been drawn to some online reports linking the ongoing subscriber line barring exercise, with the planned national protest.
“There’s absolutely no connection between the two. The NIN/SIM link registration deadline has earlier been set for 31st July, 2024.
“The fact of the matter is that the harmonization exercise of the SIM Registration database and National Identity Database has been ongoing for several months. This is aimed at improving the integrity of the National SIM registration database. Customers who had their lines blocked recently are those whom their service providers found a mismatch between their records on both databases. We advise such customers to contact their service providers through communicated channels for resolution of the issue.
