Telecommunications companies in Nigeria have denied accusations that they are trying to block the upcoming #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled to take place from August 01-10, 2024.
The denial came after prominent lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, alleged that telcos are attempting to frustrate the protest by restricting network access.
Adegboruwa’s statement mentioned an increase in complaints about network restrictions as the protest date approaches.
Adegboruwa said, “For the past few days, some telecom companies have been disconnecting their subscribers for flimsy and untenable reasons. Some allege lack of NIN registration or linking, while others didn’t give any reason at all. This action is coming on the heels of the proposed struggle of the people against hunger, poverty, suffering, and the suffocating economic policies of the Tinubu administration.”
He continued, “It would seem that the underlying target of the telecom companies is to limit the reach of their customers in order to restrict access and thus frustrate the protests.”
Adegboruwa also emphasized that “The contract between telecommunication companies and their subscribers remains sacrosanct and should not be tampered with arbitrarily. Sufficient information and opportunity should be given for subscribers to remedy any alleged breach or error.”
In response, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators in Nigeria (ALTON), dismissed these allegations as baseless. He said, “This is the funniest allegation anybody can make. We are in a social and economic contract with the people to provide services which is critical to their lives, at all times. That contract will not allow us to do such a thing. Besides, what is the motive for which we can even assume such a heinous act?”
Adebayo added, “Both those for and against the protest are our subscribers, so if we try to frustrate it, whose interest will we be serving? We are apolitical by nature and will remain so. We have no business to interfere with the political beliefs of our subscribers.”
He further explained that “The deadline for SIM-NIN linkage for subscribers who have not done so is this month end and networks have started barring such subscribers after sufficient and repeated warnings have been passed. It will be unfair to attribute such disruptions to telcos interfering with the protest.”
The telcos have assured that they have no intention of disrupting the protest and are committed to providing uninterrupted service to their customers.
