Uzor Arukwe Shares Why He Was Fired From Telecom Company, How His Dismissal Shook the Organisation
- Nigerian actor Uzor Arukwe disclosed on a podcast that he was fired from Etisalat in 2018 over a data fraud scandal within his team
- Arukwe led a specialised tech sales unit called the Geek Force, where team members secretly sold free promotional data for personal profit
- Although Arukwe denied direct involvement, someone used his login credentials to carry out the transactions, making him liable as team head
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Nigerian actor Uzor Arukwe has spoken about one of the most turbulent moments of his professional life, recounting how he lost his job at telecommunications company Etisalat back in 2018.
Speaking on the CreativiTea podcast on October 29, Arukwe described how a data fraud scheme carried out by members of his own team ultimately cost him his position at the company.
Source: Instagram
At the time, Uzor Arukwe headed a niche unit within the sales department known as the Geek Force.
The group was made up of technically minded staff whose job was to help customers get the best out of their devices, assist with troubleshooting, and upsell products to walk-in buyers.
How the Etisalat data fraud unfolded
Trouble began during a promotional campaign tied to the sale of MiFi routers.
Customers who purchased the devices were entitled to a complimentary data bundle of around six to eight gigabytes.
Instead of allowing customers to receive this data for free as intended, members of Uzor Arukwe's team began charging buyers for the promotional data and keeping the money for themselves.
The actor maintained that he played no personal role in the scheme.
However, a digital trace linked his official login credentials to the fraudulent transactions, placing him squarely at the centre of the investigation.
Because he held the top position within the group, he was held accountable for what happened under his watch.
"Somebody was using my login to do it, and that's the truth of the matter," he said during the podcast.
"And then there was a trace. And then because I was technically the head of the group, I had to take the fall."
Source: Instagram
Uzor Arukwe's departure shook Etisalat
Only Uzor Arukwe and one other colleague were eventually let go over the incident. But according to the actor, his exit caused considerable disruption within the organisation because of the reputation he had built there.
"Mine shook the entire company because it looked like I had a future," he said. "My career was I was quite celebrated."
Adding another layer to the story, Uzor Arukwe admitted that he kept the termination hidden from his parents entirely, carrying the weight of the dismissal privately before eventually finding his footing in the entertainment industry.
Watch Uzor Arukwe share why he was fired from Etisalat in the X video below:
Uzor Arukwe seeks help to identify phone theft suspect
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nollywood actor Uzor Arukwe called for public assistance to identify an elderly man accused of stealing phones belonging to filmmaker and fashion designer Kingsley Okoye Rex at the Service of Songs for late actor Cjay Nwoks in Lagos.
Arukwe said the incident occurred at RCCG Maranatha Church in Gbagada and that CCTV footage reportedly captured the suspect before he disappeared.
The actor urged his followers to share the man's pictures and asked anyone with useful information about his identity or whereabouts to contact Rex.
Source: Legit.ng
