A silent robbery is happening in plain sight. No masks. No guns. Just a data counter spinning down while you sleep, and a customer care voice telling you to “check your usage.”
Honestly? Nigerians have had enough.
The Man Who Walked Into MTN
The story that broke the camel’s back happened just days ago. A man walked into an MTN office. He wasn’t there to complain politely. He went to demand answers. 
His crime? He paid for a 150GB data plan with one month of validity. In just six days, it was gone.
“My 150GB data plan that was supposed to last for one month finished in just six days, and nobody could give me any reasonable explanation. This is not normal,” he said, confronting a staff member on camera.
The video went viral. Not because it was dramatic, but because everyone felt it.
One user wrote: “This thing don happen to me before!” Another added: “Data dey finish like magic these days. We really need transparency.”
Not Just One Man. Not Just MTN.
Omoyele Sowore, the human rights activist, put it even more bluntly recently:
“We have to go after MTN. They’re the biggest data thieves in the world today. You’ll buy five thousand naira worth of data, and by the time you wake up, it would have disappeared. MTN is looting your data, and by extension, they’re destroying your life.”
Looting. Not leaking. Not mismanaging. Looting.
For that reason, the complaints don’t stop at disappearing data. Subscribers are also paying premium rates for 5G but experiencing speeds that barely match 2G.
A business centre owner in Lagos put it painfully: “I see the 5G icon light up at the top of my phone screen with full bars… but my video still buffers. Payment confirmation stalls. The calls drop. This was not what we were promised when the telcos insisted on hiking tariff.”
What the Telcos Say
The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) defends the status quo. As for data plans expiring before you use them? They say you can’t carry data “in perpetuity.”
On USSD charges, paying N6.98 even when the bank’s system fails? ALTON’s chairman gave this analogy:
“The phone company is like a taxi taking you to the bank’s digital office. Even if the bank’s system is down when you get there, you still have to pay the taxi man.”
That analogy might fly. However, Nigerians aren’t taking a taxi. They’re paying for a service they never received.
Meanwhile, They’re Smiling to the Bank
In 2025, MTN Nigeria posted $3.62 billion in revenue and $773 million in profit, a 55% rise from the previous year. At the same time, Airtel Africa said Nigeria contributed a staggering 49% of its entire revenue.
Tariffs went up by 50%. Services did not.
The NCC has finally stepped in. They directed operators to compensate subscribers for poor service quality. But the framework? Still being worked out. The compensation? Unclear. The timeline? You guessed it, waiting.
SEE ALSO: Nigerians to Receive Airtime for Network Failures Under New NCC Policy
The Real Question
So, are Nigerian telecommunications companies extorting customers?
The word “extortion” implies intent. That would require proving they design systems to drain data faster, charge for unused services, and leave customers without recourse. Hard to prove. Easy to suspect.
But here’s what’s not up for debate: A man’s 150GB disappeared in six days, Customers pay for 5G and get 2G speeds, USSD charges apply even when transactions fail, Telcos post record profits while service craters.
Call it extortion. Call it exploitation. Call it whatever you want.
The 150GB is still gone. And nobody at the MTN office could explain why.
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