MTN Nigeria has disclosed that it recorded 9,218 fibre cut incidents and 211 cases of site vandalism in 2025, disruptions that significantly affected network performance and customer experience across the country.
The figures were shared by MTN Nigeria CEO and Managing Director, Karl Toriola, in a year-in-review post titled “MTN Nigeria 2025 Wrapped.” According to Toriola, the review was not meant to celebrate milestones, but to openly assess service challenges, customer feedback, and areas requiring improvement.
“We are not where we want to be yet, but our commitment to putting the customer at the centre of everything we do remains constant,” Toriola said.
Fibre cuts and vandalism strain network performance
Like other telecom operators in Nigeria, MTN faced persistent infrastructure-related challenges throughout the year. The 9,218 fibre cuts recorded between January 1 and December 31, 2025, disrupted voice and data services, contributing to inconsistent network quality for subscribers.
The data aligns with industry reports from the NCC Uptime portal, which showed that MTN Nigeria experienced the highest number of network outages in December 2025. Out of 118 reported incidents across operators, MTN accounted for 64, driven by fibre cuts, power outages, bushfires, and vandalism.
Despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), operators continue to face attacks on fibre lines, base stations, towers, and data centres. MTN revealed that 211 sites were impacted by theft and vandalism between January and November 2025, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
Toriola acknowledged the operational realities shaping customer experience, noting that fibre damage and vandalism had a direct and measurable impact on service delivery.
Customer complaints rise amid disruptions
The network challenges contributed to 1.62 million customer complaints recorded in 2025, spanning calls, emails, social media, and walk-in service centres. While acknowledging the volume of complaints, MTN said all reported issues were resolved.
“We take responsibility for the signals we receive and for how we respond to the realities that shape the customer experience on our network,” Toriola stated.
Financial turnaround despite infrastructure setbacks
Despite the operational disruptions, MTN Nigeria recorded a strong financial recovery in 2025. For the nine months ended September 2025, the company reported a profit after tax of ₦750.19 billion, reversing a ₦514.9 billion loss recorded in the same period of 2024.
The turnaround restored positive retained earnings and shareholders’ equity, paving the way for renewed investor confidence. Following the results, MTN’s board approved an interim dividend of ₦5.00 per share, marking a return to dividend payments after a prolonged suspension.
While the financial performance reflects MTN Nigeria’s resilience, the scale of fibre cuts and vandalism underscores ongoing structural challenges facing Nigeria’s telecoms sector, particularly around infrastructure protection and service reliability.
