“My Data Vanishes In Hours”: Nigerians Cry Out As Telecom Complaints Hit 413,587 In Six Months

MICHAEL AKINOLA 

For many Nigerians, buying mobile data has become a gamble. You subscribe in the morning, and by evening, it is gone, even without streaming a video.

That frustration is now official. New data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, shows that MTN, Airtel, Globacom and T2 Mobile received a staggering 413,587 complaints from subscribers in the first half of 2026 alone.

The complaints cover network quality, billing errors, failed transactions, SIM issues, and the most emotional of all, rapid data depletion.

Of the total, Airtel recorded the highest number with 228,992 complaints, followed by MTN with 124,405, Globacom with 56,810 and T2 Mobile, formerly 9mobile, with 3,885. The NCC says 98.38 percent, representing 406,938 complaints, were resolved in line with the Quality of Service Business Rules, 2024.

But data depletion remains the flashpoint.

MTN, which crossed 100 million subscribers in July 2026, topped the chart with 12,212 data depletion complaints between January and June, representing 52 percent of the 23,396 total. Airtel followed with 9,806, Globacom with 1,373 and T2 Mobile with just five.

It is a bitter pill for subscribers who are now paying far more for less. Following the NCC-approved 50 percent tariff hike, MTN’s 1GB now costs N525 up from N350, 10GB is N5,250 up from N3,500, and 25GB is N9,750. Airtel’s 23GB rose to N9,000 from N6,000, while Glo’s 24GB jumped to N7,500 from N5,000.

Nigerians now spend an estimated N20.87 billion daily on data, totalling N7.62 trillion yearly, even as internet users hit 148.2 million.

Telecom operators blame the depletion on modern realities, not theft. MTN and the NCC point to high-definition streaming, automatic app updates, background sync, cloud backups and malware.

“Applications such as social media and email sync data, fetch notifications, and perform updates even when users are not actively using their phones,” the NCC noted.

MTN, at its Data on Trial event earlier this year, introduced daily usage reports and a data calculator to improve transparency. Airtel posted the highest complaint resolution rate at 99.38 percent, followed by Globacom at 99.04 percent and MTN at 96.57 percent.

But subscribers are not convinced. Many question how data disappears faster even when network is poor, calls drop, and videos buffer endlessly due to fibre cuts and vandalism.

Experts describe it as a trust deficit. “Subscribers are now paying substantially more out-of-pocket for the exact same bundles. When it disappears rapidly, it forces a painful choice between staying connected and buying necessities,” analysts told BusinessDay.

For students attending online classes, small businesses on WhatsApp, and families on video calls, the cost is real.

The NCC says the half-year report is meant to promote transparency and accountability, but for the average Nigerian, the demand is simple: make data affordable, make it last, and make the network work.