MTN Nigeria Suffers Major Network Outage in Lagos After Fibre Cable Cut

Millions of MTN subscribers across Lagos have been hit by a major network outage after a significant fibre optic cable cut disrupted voice calls, internet access, and data services across multiple areas of Africa’s largest city.

MTN Nigeria confirmed the outage through its official X account on Monday evening, May 4, stating that the disruption was caused by a fibre cut and that engineers had been deployed to restore service. The company did not provide a timeline for full restoration as of Tuesday.

“We’re experiencing network challenges in some parts of Lagos State due to a fibre cut, and our services may be temporarily unavailable as a result,” MTN said in the service notice, adding: “Our engineers are working to restore services as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

The outage has sparked widespread frustration across the commercial capital, where digital connectivity is essential for everything from mobile banking to ride-hailing to business communication. Small business owners reported difficulty processing POS payments, remote workers lost access to cloud tools, and students were cut off from online learning platforms during peak usage hours.

While MTN did not release a comprehensive list of affected neighbourhoods, the company confirmed that multiple parts of Lagos were impacted. The absence of geographical specificity — combined with no restoration timeline — has left subscribers with no way to plan around the disruption.

The incident highlights Nigeria’s growing dependence on a telecom infrastructure that remains physically vulnerable to construction damage, vandalism, and environmental factors. Nigerian telecommunications firms recorded 577 network outages and 361 fibre cuts in Q1 2026 alone, according to recent industry data — a frequency that underscores structural fragility in the country’s digital backbone.

MTN’s Lagos outage comes just weeks after the Nigerian Communications Commission directed telecom operators to compensate customers for poor network quality. MTN had announced plans to offer airtime credits to affected subscribers under that directive, though it is unclear whether this outage qualifies under the same compensation framework.

For now, Lagos residents in affected areas remain dependent on alternative networks or Wi-Fi as MTN’s engineers work to splice and restore the damaged fibre line.

Sources: Legit.ng, UnderCode News