Xenophobia attack: MTN offices shut in Edo

Following the attack on some South African companies in Lagos and other parts of the country, MTN offices across Edo State have been shut down to forestall any attack on its offices.

Our reporter ,who visited some of the offices located at Akpakpava, Sapele road and Murtala Muhammed way in Benin, the state capital, observed that the offices are under lock and key.

It was gathered that MTN offices across the state have also been closed to customers.

Some subscribers, who were at the office to transact business,were stranded as there was no one to attend to them.

A subscriber, Joshua Edosa, who was at the office for sim replacement, said he was at the office by 8am but met it under lock and keys.

“I am here for sim replacement because I lost my phone. Now, no one is here to attend to me and you know what it means if your sim card is faulty, you are shut out of the world”.

He called on the federal government to meet with the South African counterpart to resolve the issue as innocent people are suffering.

Another subscriber, Anslem Odion, who was at the officer for SIM registration, lamented that he would not be able to make calls as his problem had not been addressed.

“I only have MTN SIM card and I have issues with it, so I can’t receive or make calls with it, and I came to the office today to rectify it but unfortunately no one is around to attend to me,” he said.

A staff of MTN, who spoke in confidence, said there was a directive from the management to stay away from the office following threats of attack.

The staff, who spoke to our reporter on phone, said: “We received a letter from the head office directing all MTN offices to close down till further notice,”