Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Thursday led a protest at the Abuja office of MTN Nigeria over rising data costs, in a development that mirrors growing legislative concern over the state of telecommunications services in the country.
Videos circulating online showed Sowore and a group of protesters at the company’s premises chanting “MTN ole! MTN ole!” while demanding urgent action against what they described as exploitative data pricing.
The protest comes just a day after the House of Representatives criticised telecom operators and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over poor service delivery, high tariffs and weak regulatory oversight.
During plenary on Wednesday, lawmakers lamented widespread complaints from subscribers, including dropped calls, slow internet speeds, failed messages and poor customer service, warning that Nigerians were paying high costs for substandard services.
The House also accused the NCC of failing to enforce quality standards that would compel operators to improve performance, noting that unreliable telecom services pose risks not only to businesses but also to emergency response situations.
Against this backdrop, Thursday’s protest highlights growing public frustration over the cost and quality of telecommunications services, particularly mobile data, which has become essential for communication, business and digital access.
The demonstrators in Abuja demanded a review of data pricing, arguing that current charges do not reflect the quality of service experienced by users.
As of the time of filing this report, MTN Nigeria had not issued an official response to the protest.
