9th September, 2021
Telecommunication services have been shut down in 13 local government areas of Katsina State following the incessant attacks by bandits in the areas.
The shutdown of the telecommunication services is speculated to be a move by security operatives to clamp down on bandits in the state, Daily Trust reports.
The affected local government areas include: Sabuwa, Faskari, Dandume, Batsari, Danmusa, Kankara, Jibia, Safana, Dutsin-Ma, Funtua, Bakori, Malumfashi and Kurfi.
The above-mentioned areas are located on the outskirts of the Ruggu forest where most of the bandits are known to be hiding.
Few days ago, the National Communications Commission (NCC) debunked reports that it planned to shut down telecom services in the Northwestern state.
NCC had refuted a trending social media story claiming that the commission had ordered telecom service providers to shut down their sites in Katsina.
In a statement, Director General (Media), Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, had said the Executive Vice Chaiman/CEO of NCC, Professor Umar D. Danbatta, had spoken to the state government on the matter where he said the story was false.
The NCC VC/CEO added that the purported letter trending in the social media was a cloned version of the one sent to Zamfara State, where there is a total shutdown of telecom sites.
NCC had issued a directive to telecom operators to shut down their services in the neighbouring Zamfara State as from September 3, to enable security agencies carry out required operations in relation to the pervasive security challenges.