Hundreds of MTN customers in Osun State staged a protest on Monday morning around Dada estate, where the service provider’s state headquarters is located.
Many of the protesters claimed they had arrived as early as 6 am to resolve issues with their blocked SIM cards due to NIN inconsistencies. The protestors also blocked the Osogbo-Iwo road leading to the Oke-Fia area, causing significant traffic disruptions and gridlock.
The demonstrators, including elderly individuals, women, pregnant women, and civil servants, expressed visible frustration over not being attended to by MTN staff. Ismail Ademola, a resident of Dada estate, noted that as of 8 am, only customers from the previous week were being served, leaving those who arrived that day unattended.
Another customer, Ifeoluwa Dayo, shared her frustration, stating, “I left my children at home since 7 am in Ikirun, Ifelodun local government area of the state, only to be told to come back another day during this period of high transportation costs.”
Security operatives, including DSS officials, were called in to manage the escalating tension and were stationed at the office.
At another MTN partner office in Fakunle, hundreds of customers were also left stranded due to a network glitch. Bashir Olaoye, a customer, reported visiting the office since last Friday and returning on Monday morning from Ede, only to be told there was a network issue. Olaoye expressed his confusion, stating that he had already linked his NIN with his mobile number and could not understand why his line was blocked.
He added, “Even the online portal made public for us to use to link NIN is not working, and the service provider still has the audacity to block our lines. It is really frustrating.”
A senior MTN staff member told Vanguard that the disruptive activities of the customers had slowed the process at the head office, while the office connect centres across the state had been adequately supported to help customers link their NIN without needing to visit the head office in Osogbo.
News Editor