MTN Nigeria faced a record 9,218 fibre cuts as of December 31, 2025, alongside 211 sites impacted by theft and vandalism by November 30, incidents that disrupted services millions of Nigerians rely on daily.
The disruptions resulted from a national challenge where MTN recorded 5,478 fibre cuts in just the first seven months of 2025, with 760 incidents in July alone.
This was largely caused by road construction and deliberate vandalism, with some of these incidents knocking out services across multiple states simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the technology company leading telecommunications company in the country resolved record 1,624,263 customer complaints across calls, social media, emails, and walk-in centres in 2025.
“Some of those gaps were shaped by real operational challenges such as fibre cuts, theft, and vandalism. Their impact is felt directly by customers and reflected in what they tell us,” Dr Karl Olutokun Toriola, MTN Nigeria CEO, wrote on LinkedIn.
Despite these challenges, the company also pointed to areas of strength. MTN retained recognition as the best network from Ookla, returned to profitability, declared an interim dividend, and grew its subscriber base to over 85 million by September, showing stability that enables further improvements.
Nonetheless, MTN Nigeria acknowledges there is more work to be done.
“We are not where we want to be yet. We see you. We hear you. We exist because of you. And we will get better,” Toriola added.
The telecom giant is entering its 25th year, and its focus is embedded in listening to customers, addressing operational pressures, and consistently improving the user experience.
Dr. Toriola reiterated MTN Nigeria’s resolve to continue to treat every piece of feedback as a guide for progress, calling on regulators and policymakers to strengthen protections for telecom infrastructure and even criminalise vandalism to prevent further network disruptions.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has also flagged vandalism and theft as major threats to service quality nationwide.
