MTN & Airtel Report that their Masts are now Boko Haram Targets

It appears that the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram has changed tactics in their persistent uprising and are now attacking telecommunication operations in Nigeria.

Telecommunication companies, MTN and Airtel have complained that their mobile phone masts are coming under attack from gunmen in northern Nigeria who may be trying to elude police trackers through their phones.

Their masts were yesterday attacked by gunmen, who are suspected to be members of Boko Haram.

In Kano, men on motorbikes destroyed MTN and Airtel mobile phone masts in the early hours of Wednesday.

Daily Times reports that in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, ten masts were burned to the ground on Wednesday morning and local residents complained there was no mobile telephone reception.

Also yesterday, the MTN office in Maiduguri was set ablaze. The MTN Regional Office in West- End on Baga Road and nine telecommunications masts belonging to various companies were attacked.

MTN’s spokeswoman Funmilayo Omogbenigun said, “We confirm that like all the other major telcos, some of MTN’s installations in northern Nigeria have been damaged by unknown persons. All the relevant government security agencies have been informed and we are receiving their full co-operation.”

The tactics often employed by the Boko Haram (Western education is a sin) sect still amazes me – Burning churches, schools, media houses, and now telecommunication companies. Nigerians are really tired of their operations and once again, we call on the Federal Government and security agencies to please put a stop to their operations.