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A protest has broken out at an <a href="https://www.mtn.ng/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MTN</a> office in Osogbo, the Osun state capital following the telecommunication company’s decision to block sim cards that are yet to link their National Identification Numbers (NIN) to their sim cards. In a video making the rounds on social media, a large group of people can be seen setting up blockades in front of the MTN office, preventing commuters from passing through. 
The protesters can be heard lampooning the company for blocking their cards, insisting that they weren’t even given any kind of warning or message to that effect. 
“The protest has started. There is no road here anymore so anybody coming should be going back. How can they block our lines without any warning or message? We have started the protest and we will remain here with them,” protesters who are already turning back oncoming vehicles could be heard saying in the local Yoruba dialect. 
This is coming after MTN embarked on a mass-blocking campaign over the weekend. Many users of the South African telephone service provider woke up to the reality that they could not make or receive telephone calls or access the Internet. 
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 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="750" height="938" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MTN-offices.jpg" alt="Protest breaks out as Nigerians besiege MTN offices nationwide over NIN-SIM linkage" class="wp-image-234063">
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 MTN offices
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An affected subscriber, Shina, informed Technext that he became aware of his line’s status when he tried to make a telephone call early in the day: “I just heard a voice prompt that informed me that my line has been barred because I failed to link my NIN to my line. It also told me to visit the nearest MTN shop to reconnect my line”, the source added. 
Many users indicated that they noticed the action in the early hours of this morning. Most of them claimed that they had completed the linkage exercise in the past with pieces of evidence. 
<h4 id="nigerians-besiege-mtn-offices-nationwide" class="wp-block-heading">Nigerians besiege MTN offices nationwide</h4> 
Following the mass blocking of MTN lines, concerned Nigerians, on Monday, trooped out to MTN offices in their numbers in a bid to unblock their lines. Many are also taking swipes at the company for mass blocking lines without warning and demanding an immediate restoration of service. 
In an MTN office in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, where a large crowd has gathered, a user accused the company of punishing Nigerians by asking them to come to their office on a Monday morning. He argued that there ought to be digital means to resolve the issues. 
“MTN, this is not necessary. You would have found other ways to do this in this twenty-first century. How can you bring this kind of number of people to your office and be punishing? With lines that have been bought decades ago. There should be ways we can do this thing in the comfort of our homes,” the user said. 
In an MTN office in Warri, Delta state where hundreds of users have gathered, people could be seen loitering both inside and outside the compound with no sense of direction from the company. 
“Look at the masses. Look at the crowd. This is happening in Nigeria. They blocked everybody’s line including mine. Only God can help us in this country,” a user affected by the blockage said. 
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 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1162" height="1328" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2.png" alt="Subscribers groan as MTN allegedly bar lines over NIN-SIM linkage" class="wp-image-234036">
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 Many users say they have linked their NIN
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The situation is the same across cities including Ibadan, Sango-Otta and others. In some MTN offices, long queues have been formed as people wait to be attended to. Many people also believe this is a plot to distract Nigerians from the impending #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled to start on August 1 and to limit their reach. 
In February, the Nigerian telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) restated its instruction to telecom operators, emphasizing the necessity to block sim cards of telephone subscribers who haven’t linked their National Identification Numbers (NINs) by February 28, 2024. 
The directive to telecom operators to block SIM cards not linked to National Identification Numbers (NINs) follows a similar directive in 2020. According to the government, the decision was necessitated by the unremitting terrorist attacks, kidnapping and banditry across states in the country. 
See also: <a href="https://technext24.com/2024/07/28/mtn-allegedly-bar-lines-nin-sim-linkage/" data-type="post" data-id="234034">Subscribers groan as MTN allegedly bar lines over NIN-SIM linkage</a>

Protest breaks out as Nigerians besiege MTN offices nationwide over NIN-SIM linkage

Technext.ng

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