MTN Reacts as Nigerians Outraged Over Network Disruption Amid Protest to Free VDM

• Nigerians have expressed frustration over network disruptions by MTN preventing them from accessing social media and data applications
• Customers shared their dissatisfaction on social media, blaming MTN for poor service, with some questioning the company's reliability
• The issue coincided with a protest led by activist Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, further amplifying the public outcry

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Nigerians have expressed frustration after waking up to terrible network issues on Tuesday, May 6th, 2025.

For reasons unknown to customers, they are unable to connect to social media or use various data applications despite having sufficient data.

When a Legit.ng correspondent, who experienced a similar issue, reached out to the customer care centre of MTN Nigeria, the telco reprentative apologised for the network disruption but assured that the particular case would be forwarded to the customer care support unit for a proper check.

Across social media, however, many people have called out the network for its poor service, especially in light of the protest to free Nigerian activist Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).

@StudentCandi1 stated:

“Whenever you have an online job interview, don’t ever depend solely on MTN NETWORK because they will really mess you up.”

@Blaugranang said:

“MTN network has been terrible, affecting both lives and businesses.

“Guess what? They know you won’t abandon them. We, as a people, generally have this sense of loyalty, even when it is to our detriment. We tend to stick to someone or something even when we know they don’t care or are not up to standard because it is 'our own', 'we’ve been using it', 'I don’t want to stress myself looking for alternatives', 'they are all we’ve got', etc.

“This indifference is what MTN, like others, plays on. They know you won’t do anything. They think you are incapable of making a change, that you dread it.”

@mukhtar_usman said:

“I can’t believe a network will just shut down internet service and get away with it.

“Thought my phone had spoiled at some point last night. MTN, God in His infinite mercy will punish you.”

@ossynoya said:

“It’s crazy what MTN and AIRTEL are doing today, MTN especially. Not sure if it’s related to the planned protest today, but how do you completely turn off the network since 3 a.m. today??

“There’s the lack of respect for Nigerians by everyone who’s supposed to serve us.”

@dibwuru said:

“This is the quality of internet we get from you guys after buying 15GB for 6K naira.

“You all have no shame… guess what, it hasn’t even rained here in the last 4 days!”

@Ayo_YRN said:

“So, because my data is expiring tomorrow, your network stopped working?

“What type of scam network is this?”

@MessageAkunna said:

“I can’t browse in my house unless I position my MiFi in a certain location. And even now, I can’t browse at all.”

MTN Nigeria spends N202 billion on network upgrade

Legit.ng reported that MTN Nigeria said it has invested about N202.4 billion, representing 159% yearly, in infrastructure upgrades and network expansion to boost service delivery and capacity.

The company disclosed this in its unaudited financials for Q1 2025, saying its subscribers grew by 8.2% to 84.1 million, an addition of 3.2 million subscribers during the review period.

The telco disclosed that its active data users increased by 13.0% to 50.3 million, an additional 2.6 million users.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng