Residents and business owners in Edo State are grappling with significant disruptions following the mass disconnection of SIM cards by Globacom, one of Nigeria’s leading telecommunications companies. The unexpected move has left many without essential communication services, severely impacting local businesses and daily life.
Globacom initiated the disconnection of numerous SIM cards across the country as part of a compliance effort with regulatory directives from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The NCC had mandated that all telecom operators ensure their customers’ SIM cards are properly registered with accurate biometric and personal information. SIM cards failing to meet these requirements were subject to disconnection.
For many Edo residents, mobile phones are not just a means of communication but a lifeline. The abrupt disconnection without notification has left individuals unable to make calls, send messages, or access mobile data, cutting them off from friends, family, and essential services.
A Benin City resident, Mr Theophilus Omorodion, expressed his frustration with the disconnection of his SIM card by Glo, despite the fact that he had previously registered and even linked his SIM card with his NIN.
Omorodion frowned at the manner his line was disconnected without any prior notification from Glo either by call, text message or email.
He said, “Last week I noticed my Glo sim card was displaying no service on my phone. At first I thought it was a network issue so I put my phone off and on again, the situation remained the same. I put the sim card in another phone and it was still displaying no service. So the following Monday I went to the Glo office located along Mission Road in Benin City, the Edo State capital. Only for the management to tell me that my sim card has been disconnected and that I have to re-register.”
Mr Omorodion further expressed his frustration by stating that he had been going to the Glo office since then and that they had not attended to him due to the mammoth crowd at the premises. He alleged that some persons in the Glo office were extorting people to the tune of N4,000 in order to get queue numbers so that they can be attended to.
The impact on local businesses has been even more severe. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of the state’s economy, have reported significant losses due to the inability to communicate with customers and suppliers.
Mary Osunde, who is an online vendor in Benin City, lamented that most of her orders and clients come through various social media platforms and that the disconnection of her sim card had cost her a lot as she had lost huge amounts of money that she can’t even imagine.
“Most of my orders come through phone calls and WhatsApp. With my SIM disconnected, I’ve lost a week’s worth of orders. My business is suffering, and I don’t know how long it will take to recover. Am so frustrated right now that I don’t even know what to do,” she said.
