Minister denies asking telcos to tamper with network to frustrate protesters

The Minister of Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has denied directing telecom companies in the country like MTN Nigeria , Global and others to tamper with networks to frustrate protesters participating in the ongoing nationwide protests which began on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, million of Nigerians using MTN, Airtel and other networks took to social media to complain about the unusual slow speeds of browsing.

This development sparked conspiracy theories among people that the President Bola Tinubu administration have given an order to the telcoms, so they could hamper the protests.

READ ALSO:APC, Edo govt clash over ownership of rice looted by #EndBadGovernance protesters

But Tijani, appearing on Channels TV Live programme to cover the August Protest refuted the claim

“There’s no instruction to tamper with (phone) networks. There is no such instructions from my office whatsoever. You need to understand that when you have a significant number of people not at work and are online, you will expect that the traffic will be extremely high” he explained.

Earlier in the day, Tijani frowned at the looting and vandalisation of the yet to be commissioned National Communication Commission, NCC, building in Kano State.

By Babajide Okeowo

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