Minister denies asking telecom companies to disrupt networks to prevent protesters

Digital Economy Minister Bosun Tijani has denied directing telecommunications companies in the country such as MTN Nigeria, Global and others to disrupt networks to thwart protesters participating in the ongoing nationwide protests that began on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, millions of Nigerians using MTN, Airtel and other networks complained on social media about extremely slow browsing speeds.

The developments have sparked conspiracy theories among the public that President Bola Tinubu’s government has given orders to telecommunications companies so they can stifle protests.

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But Tijani, who appeared on Channels TV Live to cover the August protests, denied the claims.

“There was no instruction to tamper with the (telephone) network. There was no such instruction at all from my office. You need to understand that when you have a lot of people off work and online, you would expect the traffic to be very high,” he explained.

Earlier in the day, Tijani condemned the looting and destruction of the yet-to-be-inaugurated National Communications Commission (NCC) building in Kano State.

By Babajide Okeowo

Minister denies asking telecom firms to crash networks to thwart protesters first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.