Nigeria’s Top Telco Faces Scrutiny Over Curious Internet Hiccups During Protests

Nigeria’s leading telecommunications operator, MTN, is under fire for a sudden decline in internet and call service quality that coincided with nationwide protests against rising living costs. Many Nigerians suspect the timing of the service disruption is not coincidental, and that internet speeds were deliberately throttled to hinder communication and organisation among protestors.

The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests, which began across the country on Thursday, were sparked by a combination of factors including inflation, fuel subsidy removal, and foreign exchange reforms. These policies have resulted in significant price increases for food and transportation, putting a strain on household budgets.

President Bola Tinubu, who took office last year after irregularities-marred elections, has faced criticism for his handling of the economy. The protests represent a growing public dissatisfaction with his administration’s policies.

The protests have been met with varying degrees of force by security forces, leading to at least 9 deaths according to a rights group. Police also deployed tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Abuja and Lagos, and restricted protests to specific locations away from central business districts.

Operators maintain they are working to resolve the issue. However, internet access monitoring agency NetBlocks reported a disruption to MTN’s network, consequently affecting the visibility of the protests.

⚠ Confirmed: Network data show a disruption to leading internet provider MTN in #Nigeria; the incident may limit the visibility of #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests; the operator states it is working to resolve the issue 📉 pic.twitter.com/R8RJHIJr65

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) August 1, 2024

Nigerians fear internet suppression

The disruptions could significantly impact the ability of Nigerians to share information and document the protests. Social media has played a crucial role in organising previous protest movements in Nigeria and elsewhere (notably in Kenya recently where internet disruptions were also reported), and limitations on internet access could hinder the effectiveness of the current demonstrations. 

The Nigerian Communications Commission, the country’s telecoms regulator, has stated they have not received any complaints regarding service quality and did not instruct operators to limit access.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani; a tech leader now perceived in some quarters as a government critic turned member of the establishment, speculated that congestion due to heightened traffic could be responsible while speaking to local broadcaster Channels TV on Thursday.

However, many Nigerians remain sceptical, pointing to the convenient timing of the outage and mistrust of government figures not unwilling to resort to internet censorship with the infamous 7-month-long Twitter ban still fresh in memory.

“I am an MTN subscriber and the network has been epileptic since around 4 am,” said Gabriel Owoade, a protester at Freedom Park in Lagos, who spoke to FIJ on Thursday. “I have not been able to post all the pictures I have so far taken on all my social media platforms,” Owoade continued. “I believe it is deliberate. This goes to show the kind of country we live in. This is a deliberate attempt to gag protesters.”

Similar frustrations were echoed by MTN subscribers in other parts of the country. The outage has also affected users of other major networks, including 9mobile and Glo, but MTN appears to be the most impacted. The coincidence of the internet outage with the protests has raised serious concerns about potential government interference.

While operators deny any wrongdoing, the lack of transparency surrounding the issue is fueling suspicion. An investigation into the cause of the internet disruptions and a commitment to upholding freedom of expression online would be welcome.

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