The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has stated that operational use of the newly renovated Abuja International Conference Centre will commence after the inauguration, scheduled for the 10th of June, 2025.
The Minister disclosed this on Monday, after inspecting the renovated ICC, the Outer Southern Expressway going to Wassa, and the Gishiri road construction project.
Recall that the Minister had shut down the Conference Centre in April 2024 for an initial period of eight months, cancelling all previously booked events and activities, while citing poor maintenance by the previous managers, Messrs Integrated Facility Management Services Limited.
Wike then reawarded the comprehensive renovation of the facility to Julius Berger, announcing that the ICC will be handed back to the Abuja Investment Company Limited following its renovation.
However, on Monday, the Minister stated that the FCT administration will enter an agreement with Julius Berger for the maintenance of the facility, describing maintenance of government facilities as “a significant challenge in this country.”
He noted that the new technological installations were not too complicated to be operated by the local staff who worked in the facility, adding that the administration will ensure that things are properly done.
“The centre will be maintained by Julius Berger, the company that built it. We’re not going to hand it over to any politician to manage. Maintenance is a significant challenge in this country, and we’re committed to doing things differently.
“The agreement with Julius Beggar will ensure that maintenance is done properly. We’re working on the details, and once the agreement is signed, we’ll make sure that anyone who uses the centre pays for maintenance.
“Don’t worry about the new technology; the company that provided it will handle maintenance. The staff working there are Nigerians who have been supervised by us. The technology isn’t complicated, and we’ll start operations soon after commissioning,” he said.
Wike also stated that leadership was crucial to the completion of various projects in the FCT, despite bureaucratic hurdles, stating, “Bureaucracy can be a challenge, but when you communicate your vision clearly and set expectations, people understand what needs to be done. Leadership is essential. Without it, you can’t achieve anything.”
“I work closely with civil servants who understand the vision and are committed to achieving it. If someone is not performing well, I take decisive action. It’s not about dictating, but about communicating and setting clear expectations,” he added.
The PUNCH reports that the FCT administration has scheduled 17 days for the inauguration of projects across the nation’s capital, with the Conference Center scheduled to be inaugurated on Tuesday (tomorrow).
Thomas Tuchel said he is impatient to see improvement from his England side and believes there is no need to “sugarcoat” criticism after an underwhelming 1-0 victory over minnows Andorra on Saturday.
The Three Lions came under fire for their sloppy performance in the World Cup qualifier in Barcelona, where Harry Kane scored the only goal early in the second half.
They were booed after struggling to break down a team ranked 173rd in the world even though they extended Tuchel’s winning start to three games.
“I’m impatient and want to do better,” the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss said ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against Senegal in Nottingham.
“We are thinking about giving the players a little bit more freedom in the structure — let’s see.
“Tomorrow we face a more physical and demanding team. On paper it might not look as offensive as we were against Andorra but will give the players more freedom to express themselves and hopefully we see that on Tuesday.”
A serial winner of major titles, Tuchel was appointed as the third foreign coach of England to great fanfare, but he has so far failed to deliver on the exciting brand of football he promised.
His reign began with a 2-0 win over Albania and 3-0 victory against Latvia in March.
England captain Kane conceded the Euro 2024 finalists had “got away with one” given their lacklustre performance in front of a small crowd at Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium.
“I think there was commonsense straight after in the dressing room,” said Tuchel.
“We underperformed clearly in the physical input in the game which you could see on the sideline and the data. We didn’t run enough.”
The German said he believed in brutal honesty.
“I protect my players, I said no names of players,” he said. “We as a team didn’t match our standards.
“I didn’t like the last 10 minutes, I felt on the sidelines. We didn’t play seriously enough to win it in the end and what we needed to do in a World Cup qualifier.
“Everything I say here I say to the players, why should I sugarcoat? There is no harm done, we can have criticism and I believe a group of players in football can speak honestly to each other.
“I always include myself in that — now it’s on us to do better. The attitude towards training and the camp and commitment is outstanding. Everybody wanted to be there and be involved, they wanted to start and wanted to play. We will analyse and try to do better.”
The lawmaker representing Borno South, Senator Ali Ndume, on Monday clarified that an earlier report attributed to him regarding an attack on former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.Tukur Buratai (retd.) in Borno State was misrepresented.
The former Senate Leader clarified this speculation in a statement he signed on Monday in Abuja.
According to him, the ‘Buratai’ he referred to was a town in Biu Local Government Area of the state and not the ex-chief who shares the same surname with the place.
Ndume, who featured as a guest during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, had raised concerns about the escalating insecurity in the region.
While revealing the extent of killings in the area, he added that a fierce exchange of gunfire ensued between the attackers and soldiers when they attacked Buratai last Friday.
While on the show, Ndume lamented, “We are in a dire security situation
“Just two days ago, Buratai was attacked at the front operations base in Borno.
“Some soldiers responded gallantly, but the insurgents managed to destroy several military assets.”
“The attackers reportedly targeted high-value equipment, including Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPVs), tanks, and machine guns.”
Ndume added that the insurgents not only destroy these assets but also cart away weaponry and equipment.
Barely 24 hours after his interview, the senator clarified his earlier statement, saying he wasn’t referring to the immediate past Chief of Army Staff.
“It was Buratai town in Borno state that was attacked, not the person of the erstwhile Chief of Army Staff,” he clarified.
Incidentally, the former service chief also hails from the same Buratai town in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.
Buratai served as Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff from 2015 to 2021 and was a central figure in the country’s counterinsurgency campaign.
Since his retirement, he has remained an influential figure in security circles.
Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, has declared that after God, his loyalty lies with President Bola Tinubu, saying that he takes instructions only from the duo.
Umahi made the declaration in Abakaliki while speaking with newsmen on the president’s recent commendation of him over some infrastructural feats.
The minister said the commendation was worth more than one trillion dollars to him, as it shows he was on the right track and that God answers prayers.
“I have told the president even publicly that my loyalty is to God first and then, him.
“When a man gives you the type of trust Tinubu has given me, you will.be of the devil to betray him,” he said.
He said that anyone who betrayed Tinubu after receiving such a level of trust and support would incur the wrath of God.
“Have you seen where a man presided over the procurement of a project worth N1.6 trillion, and his boss did not call him to ask how he went about it?
“I am talking about one section of the project, depending on the length.
“I pray every day that if I place myself, family, and friends over God, Tinubu, and Nigerians, let Him not answer me,” he said.
Umahi vowed to continue praying for Tinubu and all those who love him and appreciate what his doing.
“I also dedicate the president’s commendation to all those who pray for me to succeed in serving the people.
“This means that contractors would be on their toes to complete about 30 mega projects which the president will inaugurate by Dec.20.
“I am involved in the construction and inspection of the projects scattered across the six geo-political zones of the country,” he said.
Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi has defended his administration’s investment in the state’s brewery, insisting it remains a major economic asset despite criticisms.
In an interview on Monday with Arise News anchor Rufai Oseni, Obi recounted the challenges he faced attracting investment to Anambra, particularly in establishing the brewery, which he said has become the state’s largest revenue earner.
“If I ever tell you what I suffered for that brewery to be built in Anambra State, you will not believe it,” Obi said. “I had to go out trying to attract business to Anambra State. The biggest revenue source for Anambra today is that brewery.”
Responding to claims that the government’s stake in the brewery had depreciated, Obi dismissed the criticism. “Thank you very much. I wish other people in Nigeria invested in something that went down. That’s not smart,” he said sarcastically.
According to Obi, the brewery directly employs at least 500 Anambra residents and supports the livelihoods of over 5,000 others, including distributors and truck drivers.
He criticised the negative perception surrounding the investment, contrasting it with similar ventures in other states.
“They have the biggest brewery in Ogun State. Have you ever heard anybody say in Ogun State, oh, the brewery is this?” he said.
Obi also responded to recent criticisms suggesting his administration contributed to rising poverty in the state, with some accusing him of lacking the moral right to speak on poverty reduction.
“You are talking about a narrow interest, a narrow assessment. Go and look at Nigerian Competitive Index,” he replied, citing international development benchmarks. “Before I was governor in 2006, and after I came back from impeachment in 2007, I was effectively governor until 2014 — seven years.”
He noted that Nigeria, being a signatory to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, had global standards to measure development progress.
“By the time I ended in 2014, Anambra State under me was number one. It was UNDP that measured it, not me. I was even invited to the United Nations to come and give a speech on what we did,” Obi claimed.
The former governor emphasised improvements in education and health during his tenure and urged doubters to consult donor agencies and experts who worked on poverty reduction at the time.
“Ask everybody — the only thing I didn’t do well, Rufai, is that I wasn’t in the media. I wasn’t going about paying media people, advertising myself,” he said.
Obi concluded by stressing his simplicity and closeness to the people.
“I live in Anambra today. The only place I have a house in my name is in Anambra State. I’m inviting you — any day in Anambra State — let’s walk the streets. And people will tell you who this man is,” he said.
Residents of the Munga Dosso community in Karim- Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba have appealed to the state government to ensure strict enforcement of its anti-open grazing law to address herders and farmers’ clashes in the state.
The Youth Leader of the community, Robert Bukar, disclosed this on Monday, while briefing newsmen in Jalingo.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Munga Dosso community has come under attack recently when scores were killed, and property worth millions of naira was destroyed by suspected herders.
Bukar noted that the bill was signed into law by the former Gov. Darius Ishaku in 2018.
He said that the enforcement of the law would address the lingering farmers/herders conflict.
He also decried the absence of the government’s representatives in the crisis-affected community.
The youth leader also said that the community was left to its faith at the time, when 12 residents of the community, who were given a mass burial, were killed by suspected herders
“Notably, no government representatives from federal, state, or local levels visited the community after this incident.
“We have a senator, a house of representatives member, a state assembly member, yet none deemed it necessary to visit us and to listen to our lamentations.
“As a peace-loving community, we always report all incidents and seek assistance from security agencies.
However, we were disappointed by the lack of government representation at the mass burial, where officials failed to commiserate with our people.
” It is true that the state government sent relief materials to the victims but relief materials are not our problem. We expected their solidarity at the time.
“The aftermath of such violence has tragically resulted in not only fatalities but also a significant number of injuries and displacements.
“It has led to a humanitarian crisis that requires urgent attention. Families are left to mourn their loved ones, while survivors grapple with trauma and insecurity.
“Access to essential resources has become increasingly challenging, complicating efforts for community stability.
“Moreover, in all these, our people are often arrested and from the police station to prison but none of the perpetrators are brought to justice.
“It is only in the recent crisis that the herders were arrested with assault rifles by the police in Karim-Lamido but were released the next day,” Bukar said.
The youth leader also appealed to government to increase security deployment to allow farmers to safely return to their farms.
He also requested Taraba government to ensure that the recently constituted administrative committee of enquiry carry out a thorough investigation to apprehend and punish the perpetrators of the recent attacks.
One person has lost his life following a road crash involving a Premium Motor Spirit-laden tanker that occurred at Umuike Echem community, Nnobi, close to Nnokwa junction, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Sunday.
It was gathered that the operatives of the state fire service prevented further disaster from occurring when they responded promptly and prevented the petrol laden tanker from explosion.
One of the eyewitnesses near the scene said the driver lost control of the PMS laden truck and hit a perimeter fencing as he was trying to navigate a sharp bending in the area.
He said, ”As the driver was navigating a sharp bend, he lost control of the vehicle and the petrol tanker tripped off and hit a wall perimeter fence. The content started dripping as a result of the accident, thereby posing high risk of heavy fire outbreak.
“There were two passengers in the tanker, the driver and a conductor, while the conductor fell off and died instantly, the driver sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital where he is receiving currently treatment.”
When our correspondent visited the scene on Monday, it was observed that the fire service operatives cordoned off the scene to prevent passersby and other motorists from coming close, in order to avoid further disaster.
The Media and Publicity Unit of the State Fire Service, led by the state Fire Chief, Chukwudi Chiketa, confirmed the incident in a press statement on Monday.
Chiketa said the fire service received the distress call on Sunday, and immediately deployed two crews of firemen from different fire stations, two firefighting trucks and other fire equipment to the scene.
He said, “The firemen of Anambra State Fire Service intervened at a scene of an accident involving a truck ladened with PMS product at Umuike Echem village, Nnobi, close to Nnokwa junction, Idemili South LGA of Anambra State.
“The State Fire Service received the distress call at 0945 hours of Sunday and immediately deployed two crews of Firemen from different Fire Stations, two firefighting trucks and other fire equipment to the scene.
“It was gathered that the PMS ladened truck tripped off and hit a wall perimeter fence when the driver was trying to navigate a sharp bending, and the product started dripping as a result of the accident, posing high risk of heavy fire outbreak.
“Upon arrival at the scene, the crews of Firemen led by PFS Dike swiftly engaged in a cooling operation and successfully averted a possible inferno. The PMS product has also been successfully transloaded into another truck.
“The truck conductor lost his life on the spot, while the driver is currently responding to treatment at a hospital.”
He sympathised with the family of the deceased, the injured driver and the owners of the properties involved and advised the general public to go about their businesses of the day as the incident has been fully contained.
Cristian Chivu said goodbye to Parma on Monday ahead of his move to his former club Inter Milan to replace Simone Inzaghi as coach.
Former Romania defender Chivu will take charge of Inter, where he won three Serie A titles and the 2010 Champions League as a player, after guiding Parma to Serie A safety in his first senior coaching job.
“I thank the club, staff, players and fans for having believed in me and our project,” said Chivu on Instagram.
“Together we overcame obstacles and wrote a page (in Parma’s history) which will remain in my heart.”
Parma later confirmed Chivu’s departure, thanking him for dragging the club out of the relegation zone after replacing Fabio Pecchia in February.
That was Chivu’s first job in football since leaving Inter’s youth set-up last summer.
Chivu has reportedly agreed a two-year contract worth 2.5 million euros ($2.85 million) a season with Inter who have gambled on the novice coach ahead of the upcoming Club World Cup, after failing to get Cesc Fabregas from Como.
Inzaghi left Inter last week in the wake of the Italians’ thumping 5-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
Inter had been gunning for the treble but conceded the Serie A title to Napoli on the final day of the season, were knocked out of the Italian Cup by AC Milan and humiliated by PSG in Munich.
Chivu’s first match in charge of Inter will be against Mexican club Monterrey in the Club World Cup next week, in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California
The Gombe Police Command has confirmed the death of a 45-year-old man, Ahmed Aliyu, who was fatally attacked by unidentified assailants in Hammadu Kafi, in the Akko Local Government Area of the state.
According to a statement signed by Public Relations Officer, Buhari Abdullahi, the incident was reported at 11:00 p.m. on Sunday by a relative of the deceased, Bashir Umar, while the attack occurred around 8:00 a.m. that day.
Abdullahi said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was attacked with a knife and sustained fatal injuries to the left side of his chest and back.
“He was rushed to the Specialist Hospital in Gombe, where a medical doctor sadly confirmed him dead.”
The Police Command described the act as “senseless and unwarranted,” and has launched an intelligence-driven investigation to track down those responsible.
“We strongly condemn this heinous crime.
“An intelligence-based investigation has commenced immediately, and every effort is being made to identify, trace, and apprehend the perpetrators so they can face the full wrath of the law,” Abdullahi added.
In its appeal for public cooperation, the command urged residents to remain calm and assist in the investigation by volunteering any information that could aid in solving the case.
“We call on members of the public to support the police by providing credible information that can help unravel the circumstances behind this tragedy,” the police spokesperson said.
The command in the statement reiterated its commitment to ensuring the safety of all residents, adding, “We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to safeguarding the lives and property of everyone in Gombe State.”
Is MTN Nigeria Running a Data Empire or a Criminal Scheme?
MTN CEO
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s effort to open up the digital economy is facing serious challenges, which are coming in the form of data exploitation. The move is having a negative telling effect on many, especially at a period when the economy is obviously struggling. It is obvious that data is the currency of participation in the government-planned digital economy drive.
It is therefore surprising that MTN Nigeria, a company that promises to be a partner in this revolutionary drive, has been engaging in underhand tactics to derail the growth of the country’s digital growth drive, as investigations have revealed it is manipulating usage metrics to inflate data consumption and extract more value from unsuspecting Nigerian users.
A growing body of evidence suggests that Africa’s largest mobile operator, valued at over ₦5.98 trillion as of May 2025, has been neck-deep in practices that amount to consumer fraud on a national scale, and at the center of the unfolding controversy is Mojisola Savage, a computer science student and aspiring AI engineer whose personal investigation is now exposing what she believes to be systemic manipulation by MTN.
Her journey began on May 1, 2025, when she purchased 165GB of data from MTN to support her studies in technology and machine learning. Surprisingly, the telecommunication company sent her a message within just seven days that the data was fully exhausted despite what she describes as minimal usage.
MTN Service Center
Systematic Testing on MTN Router That Uncovers MTN Discrepancies
Annoyed and determined, Mojisola Savage on May 9 repurchased 165GB of data, but this time, she decided to conduct a detailed test, monitoring her data usage through three independent sources available:
Actual usage logs from her Huawei 4G router,
Daily SMS usage summaries sent by MTN, and
Data balance readings from the official MTN mobile app.
Initial findings of her investigation revealed inconsistencies; SMS alerts were erratic, with missing updates, especially on May 10, when no update was sent, and, as anticipated, it was declared on May 16 that the data she purchased about seven (7) days earlier was depleted, even though her logs showed far less usage. The contradictions of the recorded data usage were so obvious and alarming; for example, on May 16, when MTN claimed her entire 165GB was used up, her router logs indicated only about 17GB had been consumed.
Date MTN SMS MTN App
May 9 22GB 22GB
May 10 (No SMS) 77.98GB
May 11 4GB 4GB
May 12 2GB 2GB
May 13 6.9GB 6.7GB
May 14 6.1GB 5.9GB
May 15 48GB 47GB
May 16 (No data) 17GB
The Confrontation
Believing she had gathered enough evidence to demonstrate a major fault in MTN’s system, Savage visited the MTN service center at Shoprite, Victoria Island, presenting full screenshots of her router logs, MTN SMS alerts, and app records.
But to her surprise, the MTN staff claimed that on May 10, the exact day no usage alert was sent, Apple Services alone had consumed 80GB of data. What the staff is saying is that despite the fact that she’s not using Apple TV or upgrading her Apple phones, her phone was said to have consumed a whopping 80 GB in a day, which incidentally was the day they skipped sending usage SMS.
This further confirmed her suspicion of a carefully orchestrated data fraud racket by the telecommunication company, as it seems more than just a billing error but a manufactured justification to cover up a much deeper problem.
MTN Service Center
In the course of seeking clarification on the initial discrepancies, Mojisola Savage later discovered another contradiction in the readings of the 3rd independent monitoring source while still at the MTN center: when her MTN-issued router dashboard showed zero, the MTN mobile app reported she still had 19 GB remaining, whereas the two (2) sources are both being operated by MTN, and the fact that they completely contradicted each other means there is indeed something fishy.
“Right there, I realized something was very wrong,” she said. “MTN’s claims didn’t just fail to add up; they actively canceled each other out.” She concluded.
A Controlled Experiment: The 200GB Test
Determined to remove any remaining doubt, Mojisola Savage takes her investigation a notch higher. While still at the MTN service center, she purchased 200GB of data and configured her Huawei MTN-issued router with precise internal bandwidth management rules:
Limit total usage to 50GB out of the 200GB.
Trigger a notification once 80% of that limit (40GB) was reached.
Automatically cut off internet access when 50GB was fully consumed.
This setup would ensure that no more than 50GB could possibly be used under any condition.
According to her, “This time, I wanted to monitor every byte directly from the device, isolated from any external interference, especially from MTN.”
But like the proverbial witch that cries a day before a death occurs, just five (5) days later, MTN once again claimed that the full 200GB had been consumed. Whereas, the router’s own dashboard reported a mere 12GB of actual usage, making it convincing that data usage fraud is actually being perpetrated by the telecommunication company.
Below is what the daily breakdown from data reading that MTN SMS and App showed:
Date MTN SMS MTN App
May 16 2GB 212MB
May 17 (No SMS) 47GB
May 18 28GB 28GB
May 19 (No SMS) 27GB
May 20 (No SMS) 112GB
“According to MTN, I used over 40GB per hour between 1am and 3am on May 20,” Savage said. “That’s impossible. What can one person possibly do to burn through 40GB in an hour? Stream? Maybe I was watching 100 8K movies simultaneously?” she queried.
Suspicious and frustrated, Savage did what any basic network engineer would do: she pulled the internal usage logs directly from the router.
What she found was damning, because as of the time of writing this article, the router shows just 28GB total usage, a far cry from MTN’s claim of 200GB consumed. And unlike MTN’s invisible systems, the router’s logs can be audited, verified, and tested.
To validate her findings, we reached out to a network infrastructure expert, a certified Cisco and Huawei systems engineer with 12 years of experience in enterprise-grade broadband networks, to give us an expert and independent opinion about contradictions, and he explained that the routers are reliable.
In his words, “If properly configured, routers with bandwidth controls are highly reliable. They don’t just track traffic; they enforce limits.” He explained further. “In a case where the router shows 28GB and the provider claims 200GB, I would trust the router, especially when there’s a hard cutoff configured. For MTN’s numbers to be right, either the router is lying or something more concerning is going on.” He concluded.
Mojisola Savage, when contacted about the expert’s opinion, also gave her view. “We all know that a router can be audited. But can MTN’s accounting be audited the same way?” Savage asked. “Because if the router is right and all signs point to that, then MTN has some serious explaining to do.”
MTN Head Office
A Pattern of Evasion and Silence
Since the discrepancies first emerged, Mojisola Savage has made multiple formal requests to MTN, asking for a detailed breakdown of her data usage, something that includes timestamps, application logs, IP addresses, and traffic volumes. Till the time of publishing this report, the telecommunication company has refused to provide any such report.
All efforts to get the side of MTN have also proved futile, as the company is maintaining total silence; even messages sent to their social media handles were left unattended. This, we believe, is with the hope that the discovered fraud will die with the silence, but rather Savage keeps pressing on, seeking answers on their continuous silence. In her statement, “Why won’t they release a breakdown?” she asks. “Because it would have to match the router’s bandwidth logs, and it won’t. That’s why they’re hiding behind silence.” She suggested.
In the process of her investigation, she had meticulously preserved every piece of evidence: SMS alerts, screenshots from the MTN app, daily usage reports, and router bandwidth logs directly from the admin interface. She even maintained a full timeline of her activity, down to the minute.
She further revealed that “Since this started, I haven’t touched the router. I’ve kept everything intact,” she said. “If MTN tries to challenge me, I have the facts. I can show exactly what happened.”
Despite repeated follow-ups, MTN’s only responses have been generic messages and contradictory claims, none of which address the specific evidence Mojisola Savage has documented. The silence, in her view, is no longer just frustrating; it is a confirmation of a misdeed by the company.
Fraud, Incompetence, or Both?
At the heart of this controversy lie two questions. Savage argues that
Either the Huawei router’s bandwidth tracking is severely flawed, which is improbable, given the device’s global reliability and its complete independence from MTN’s internal systems,
Or MTN is knowingly fabricating usage data, attributing inflated consumption to vague background processes like the “Apple Services” to justify premature data depletion.
The question is why MTN is not releasing the logs if they are sure they have nothing to hide. It is expected they will treat her case as an example by releasing the logs to counter the claim together with a powerful press statement to back it up and clear the image of the company, but instead, they were hiding behind silence to shrug off accountability.
Another point is taking into cognizance the fact that Huawei’s routers have been tested by governments, corporations, and telecom providers worldwide, and they were found to be dependable and hardly a candidate for arbitrary failure. Whereas in contrast, MTN has offered no third-party verifiable data, no access to internal traffic reports, and no plausible explanation for the discrepancies.
Thinking about the MTN staff’s explanation, a bemused Mojisola Savage quipped, “Apple Services? On a non-Apple network setup? That’s not just suspicious; it’s absurd,” she said. “This isn’t a glitch. It feels like a system that’s been optimized for silent overcharging.”
Not an Isolated Case
Savage’s story is far from unique. Across social platforms like X (formerly Twitter), thousands of Nigerians have reported eerily similar experiences: abrupt data exhaustion, conflicting usage reports between the MTN app and SMS notifications, and a deafening silence from MTN when pressed for explanations.
“I bought data on March 19. No usage. No refund. MTN is ripping Nigerians off,” wrote one user on June 2.
Others were more blunt, calling the telco’s operations “digital extortion,” and one even described it as “a Ponzi scheme with airtime.”
Even public figures aren’t exempt. Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti recently took to Instagram to complain about losing over 1 terabyte of data. While he was out of the country
Since beginning her investigation, Savage claims to have uncovered at least 10 friends and acquaintances with similar unexplained data losses often dismissed by MTN without accountability or remedy.
“This isn’t anecdotal anymore. It’s systemic,” she said.
Regulatory Inactions: Aiding or Ignoring?
What makes this situation even more troubling is the deafening silence from the very institutions meant to protect Nigerian consumers. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the nation’s telecom regulator, has yet to issue a single public statement, let alone demand accountability from the telecom company, despite a growing volume of complaints and evidence.
“How can millions of Nigerians complain, and the regulator say nothing? Either they’re complicit, or they’ve abandoned their role.” Savage retorted in anger.
Critics argue that the NCC’s failure to act is not just negligence; it’s enabling. Without routine audits of telecom data systems, independent verification of consumer usage, or mandatory public disclosures, mobile operators are effectively left to self-regulate.
And in an environment where transparency is optional, exploitation becomes inevitable.
The Case for a Forensic Audit
In light of mounting discrepancies and public outcry, Mojisola Savage, along with a growing number of Nigerians, is calling for a full forensic audit of MTN Nigeria’s data billing infrastructure. The demand is simple: transparency, accountability, and truth.
This audit, she insists, must be conducted independently, under the supervision of a coalition that includes digital rights organizations, consumer protection agencies, and certified cybersecurity experts.
At a minimum, such an investigation should:
* Cross-examine MTN’s claimed data usage with actual router-level bandwidth logs.
Identify and explain inconsistencies between SMS/app usage reports and real-world consumption.
Review the basis of so-called automatic consumption by background services like “Apple Services.”
* Determine whether discrepancies are due to technical faults or deliberate overbilling.
Every Nigerian deserves to know the truth. Is our data being stolen byte by byte, or are they truly unable to explain where it’s going? For a country with one of the world’s most vibrant digital populations that truly wants to open up the digital economy in line with the goals of the President, the answer has never mattered more.
Legacy at Risk
For decades, MTN has positioned itself as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s digital evolution, powering commerce, education, and innovation across the country. But this unfolding crisis raises a stark and uncomfortable question:
Can a company claim to be a driver of digital progress while facing credible allegations of digital exploitation?
For Mojisola Savage, the answer is unequivocal.
“If they can’t explain where my 530GB went,” she said, “then they’ve already lost something more important than data trust.”
As the evidence mounts and public pressure intensifies, MTN now stands at a crossroads: defend its integrity with transparency or watch its reputation unravel byte by byte.
