Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
Nigerian activists said on Sunday that President Muhammadu Buhari should direct his Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) “to immediately reverse the apparently unlawful decision to block over 72 million active telecommunication subscribers from making calls on their SIMs.”
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said the Federal Government of Nigeria last week reportedly ordered telecommunications companies “to block outgoing calls on all unlinked lines as the deadline for the verification expired on March 31.” The alleged blocking of millions of phone lines in Africa’s most populous nation is so shocking that many cannot believe it.
The group, which often issues its statements only on Sundays banking on some divine blessing or power, added that following the directive, “over 72 million subscribers have now been barred from making calls.”
