The Minister of Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has refuted claims that he directed telecommunications companies in the country to tamper with networks to hamper the kick off of the August nationwide protest.
He made this known after Nigerians who subscribed to MTN, Airtel and other networks took to various social media platforms to complain about the unusual slow speeds they were experiencing while browsing.
The complaints led to suspicions that people within the President Bola Tinubu administration gave the order to the telcoms firms to stop the demonstrations.
Prior to this, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and lawyer to some of the groups demonstrating against economic hardship in Nigeria had accused the telecommunications companies of plotting to frustrate the nationwide protest.
Speaking via a statement on Sunday, the senior lawyer alleged that there are a lot of complaints about network restrictions as the date for the protest approached.
“In recent days, some telecom companies have been disconnecting subscribers for trivial or unexplained reasons.” Adegboruwa noted.
The SAN went on to question the timing of the disconnections, suggesting that they were intended to limit the reach of protesters and frustrate the demonstration.
Addressing the allegations while appearing on Channels TV on Thursday evening, Tijani countered the claims, insisting no one in the President Tinubu-led administration gave such instruction.
He said: “There’s no instruction to tamper with (phone) networks.”
Earlier in the day, the minister had frowned at the looting of the National Communication Commission (NCC), building in Kano State.
According to him, such vandalism is a setback to the federal government’s efforts to drive youths employment through technology.
