GSM Service Restored in Maiduguri

Mobile phone services of MTN has been restored in the restive city of Maiduguri for the first time in more than two months on Friday. It is the latest area of the conflict-torn North- East to be reconnected since the declaration of the State of Emergency.

The military Joint Task Force (JTF) cut mobile telephone network services of Glo, MTN, Etesalat, Airtel among others in the north eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe when it launched an offensive on May 15 seeking to end a four-year insurgency by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. It also later banned satellite phones (Turaya), effectively cutting off the region since landline connections are extremely rare in the country.

Last week, the Task Force restored mobile service in Adamawa State and earlier this week began reconnecting Yobe State. Maiduguri, the state capital of Borno, has become the third to be reconnected.

A senior military official told newsmen in Maiduguri that phone service would be restricted to the city for the time being, with other parts of the state, particularly areas linking Sambisa Game Reserve Forest which harbours many sect members in their camps still cut off.

Although, phone service in the city of Maiduguri and Jere Council areas was erratic on Friday, accessibility is now on. “The phone networks will be confined to Maiduguri metropolis at the moment as a security strategy and will be expanded over time depending on the security situation,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

The military has said it cut phone service to prevent Boko Haram from coordinating attacks. However, a growing number of residents and local officials have called for a return of phone service.

Ibrahim Gaidam, Yobe State governor, said the lack of phone services may have prevented residents from contacting authorities when suspected Boko Haram members raided a secondary school in Mamudo, Potiskum town on July 6, killing 42 people, nearly all of them students.

The military has claimed to have pushed out Boko Haram members and destroyed a number of their bases, but the claims have been difficult to verify with the phones cut and access to remote areas restricted.