Telecommunications company MTN Nigeria has explained that the network disruption experienced by its 87 million subscribers on Wednesday was due to “multiple fibre cuts”.

MTN boasts of 87,038,768 subscribers as of December 2023, according to data by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), representing 38.79% of the total market share, the highest in the country by any licensed Mobile Network Operator (MNO).

The outage affected both voice and data services, leaving subscribers unable to make or receive calls for several hours.

While rumors circulated linking the outage to the National Identification Numbers (NIN) deadline set by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), MTN emphasized that the issue was solely caused by infrastructure challenges.

Despite efforts by MTN engineers to restore services gradually, many subscribers were left stranded, prompting visits to MTN offices for explanations.

However, MTN, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), attributed the situation to “multiple fibre cuts”.

“You have been experiencing challenges connecting to the network due to a major service outage caused by multiple fibre cuts affecting voice and data services,” the post read.

“Our engineers are working hard to resolve with services gradually being restored in some areas.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and ask for your patience and understanding as the team works to restore full service as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, the NCC on Wednesday, issued a directive to telcos to deactivate subscribers telecom service providers to bar subscribers who have failed to link their phone numbers to their NIN by February 28, 2024.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Aminu Maida, who gave the directive through the Director of Public Affairs, Ruben Mouka, at the 45th Kaduna International Trade Fair on Wednesday, insisted that as matter of critical national security, telecom consumers must link their NIN to their SIM cards.