During the period of disruption, interstate drivers passing through Kogi experienced complete loss of mobile reception as they entered the state, with calls and data services unavailable for the entire duration of their transit.
Mobile telecommunications giant MTN has restored its network services in Kogi State, following a two-week outage that particularly affected the state capital, Lokoja.
SaharaReporters learnt that network services were restored in some areas outside Lokoja before the end of the two-week period.
Residents confirmed to SaharaReporters that connectivity resumed at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The blackout, which began two weeks earlier, left many residents and travellers cut off from communication, especially those relying solely on the MTN network.
During the period of disruption, interstate drivers passing through Kogi experienced complete loss of mobile reception as they entered the state, with calls and data services unavailable for the entire duration of their transit.
“It was really bad. Drivers travelling through Kogi stopped receiving calls as soon as they entered the state,” one source said.
In Lokoja, the situation was particularly dire. Travellers reportedly resorted to paying as much as ₦1,000 to access internet services via mobile hotspots shared by users on other networks, just to make WhatsApp calls or access basic internet services.
“Yes, in Lokoja, travellers had to pay N1,000 to get hotspot access from users of other networks,” a resident told SaharaReporters.
According to AbdulHakeem, a local resident, partial restoration occurred in some parts of the state within three days of the outage. However, full connectivity was only re-established in Lokoja on Friday.
“The network was disconnected two weeks ago. While some areas had it restored in a few days, Lokoja was without service for the full two weeks. Thankfully, it came back this morning,” he said.
MTN is yet to issue an official statement explaining the cause of the disruption or confirming full restoration across the state.
Telecoms heavily depend on diesel to power their base stations due to Nigeria’s unreliable electricity supply. Fuel prices have surged dramatically since the removal of fuel subsidies in 2023, drastically increasing running costs.
Most telecom equipment and infrastructure maintenance parts are imported. The severe naira depreciation and scarcity of foreign exchange have made it more expensive to acquire and maintain telecom infrastructure.
Telcos report facing over 40 different taxes and levies from federal, state, and local governments. This includes Right of Way (RoW) fees, which vary across states and often create bottlenecks in network expansion projects.
Also, vandalism, theft of telecom equipment, and insecurity in some regions (especially in the North-East and rural areas) hinder service delivery and increase maintenance costs.
Telecom operators have consistently complained about regulatory delays in approving necessary tariff reviews that would allow them to adjust prices in line with rising inflation.
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