MTN announces resumption of office operations following nationwide shutdown

MTN, Nigeria’s leading telecommunications provider, has resumed operations following a nationwide shutdown on Tuesday.

In a post on X, MTN announced that its physical stores would reopen to customers from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.

“Y’ello customer, please note that our shops nationwide will be open today, July 31, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. We are also available 24/7 via digital channels,” the company stated.

The shutdown on Tuesday was in response to widespread customer frustration and vandalism after subscribers who had not linked their SIM cards to their National Identification Numbers (NINs) faced disconnections.

Over the weekend, many subscribers were unable to use their phone lines due to unverified NINs, resulting in their numbers being blocked to comply with NIN-SIM linkage regulations.

The blockage led to thousands of subscribers flocking to telecom offices on Monday, prompting the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to instruct telecommunications operators to immediately restore affected lines.

In a statement issued by NCC’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the commission explained that the directive was a response to the widespread disruption and subscriber dissatisfaction caused by the blockages.

The NIN-SIM linkage policy, which began in December 2020, aims to improve national security and create an accurate SIM ownership database. Despite multiple deadline extensions, including the latest to July 31, 2024, many lines remain unverified.

The deadline for complete network compliance was initially set for April 15, 2024, but was extended to July 31, 2024, to give consumers more time to verify their NIN details. Despite these extensions, many phone lines still lack verified NINs.