Former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has renewed his attack on mobile network operators in Nigeria, accusing them of forming a cartel that is bleeding the country dry. In a recent social media post, Sowore condemned MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile for what he described as systematic exploitation of subscribers.
Sowore's Call for Occupation of MTN
Weeks earlier, Sowore had demanded the total occupation of MTN Nigeria over persistent service failures. In an April 23, 2026 post on X, he urged Nigerians to occupy MTN, citing unexplained data loss and dropped calls despite the company's market dominance. He attached a Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) chart showing MTN controls 51.8% of the nation's 182 million telecom subscribers, far ahead of Airtel (34.1%), Glo (12.3%), and 9mobile (1.8%).
Sowore wrote: "Why MTN must face total occupation by Nigerians! They dominate Nigeria's telecom space but operate with reckless disregard for their customers. Data vanishes without explanation, calls fail repeatedly, and accountability is nonexistent. MTN is totally and irreversibly irresponsible."
Renewed Criticism of Telecom Cartel
On Monday, Sowore again criticized the telecom sector, lamenting that the telecom cartel is bleeding Nigerians dry. He stated: "The company now known as Most Terrible Network (MTN) sits at the top of this exploitation pyramid, stealing, robbing, and extorting millions of Nigerian subscribers daily."
He added that MTN is not alone: "But they are not alone. Airtel Nigeria, Glo World and 9mobileNG are all complicit. All are feeding off Nigerians with impunity. Dropped calls. Vanishing data. Phantom charges. The agencies supervising are also complicit, no consequences. Enough is enough. This is not poor service; it is organized exploitation. #OCCUPYMTN NOW. Reclaim your digital rights."
The activist's comments highlight growing frustration with telecom operators in Nigeria, where poor service quality and high costs remain major consumer issues.
