Why Nigerians are experiencing poor network service?
If you’ve ever screamed at your phone because a call dropped in the middle of an important conversation, or watched your data connection crawl to a halt while trying to make a transfer, you are not alone. Millions of Nigerians are living this frustration every single day, and now, the man at the top of Nigeria’s biggest telecom company is finally speaking out about why.
MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Karl Olutokun Toriola, has broken his silence on the persistent network failures plaguing subscribers across the country. In a post on LinkedIn, Toriola acknowledged the operational battles behind the scenes, noting that service gaps were shaped by real challenges such as fibre cuts, theft, and vandalism, with their impact felt directly by customers. These are not just excuses; they are hard, documented realities that many Nigerians have never been told about.
The numbers are staggering. MTN recorded a surge in network disruptions in 2025, suffering 9,218 fibre cuts as of December 31, in addition to 211 base station sites affected by theft and vandalism. To put that into perspective, that is nearly 25 fibre cuts every single day of the year. MTN’s Chief Technical Officer, Yahaya Ibrahim, confirmed that the network experiences over 30 fibre cuts every single day, with more than 560 sites vandalised last year alone sometimes caused by construction work, sometimes by deliberate sabotage, and even by landlords shutting down sites without understanding the wider consequences.
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NCC data showed that states like Adamawa, Bauchi, FCT, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, and Cross River have all fallen victim to the fibre cut menace. The disruptions span the length and breadth of the country, which is why no subscriber, regardless of location, has been fully spared.
Despite these setbacks, Toriola has pledged that the company remains committed to putting the customer at the centre of everything it does, acknowledging there is still work to be done. In a move that signals change is coming, MTN Nigeria announced plans to compensate subscribers affected by network disruptions recorded between November 2025 and January 2026, in line with a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission aimed at enforcing stricter service standards.
MTN also says it is ramping up investment in network infrastructure, with plans to accelerate deployment of next-generation equipment, strengthen infrastructure resilience against vandalism, and improve coordination with tower companies managing critical base stations.
The Federal Government has also stepped in, with the Minister of Communications, Bosun Tijani, warning that telecom operators must now address persistent network failures and deliver the level of service Nigerians deserve.
The bottom line is that Nigeria’s network crisis is real, layered, and deeply rooted in infrastructure vulnerability. While compensation is a welcome step, what Nigerians truly want is a network that works on every call, every time.
