Buhari blames MTN for death of 10,000 Nigerians

President Mohammadu Buhari on Tuesday accused MTN of causing the death of 10,000 Nigerians over its refusal to register SIM cards on time.

President Buhari stated this during a joint press conference he had with his South African counterpart, President Jacob Zuma, adding that it was for this reason the Nigeria Communication Commission, NCC, fined the network provider.

According to President Buhari, this would be his first time to speak on the issue as the president of Nigeria, adding that the concern of Nigeria was basically on the security of lives and property of the people in the midst of terrorism.

Read also: President Zuma arrives Nigeria, begins talks to bail out MTN.

The President also said the decision of MTN to go to court slowed the intervention of the government as it could not have interfered on a matter before the court.

He said: “This is the first time I will personally as a president be making a public comment about it. The concern of the federal government is basically on the security and not the fine imposed on MTN. You know how the unregistered GSM are being used by terrorists.

“And between 2009 and today, at least 10,000 Nigerians were killed by Boko Haram. That was why NCC asked MTN, Glo and the rest of them to register GSM. Unfortunately, MTN was very, very slow and contributed to casualties”, President Buhari said.

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