Cellphone provider MTN denied reports out of Nigeria on Thursday that its office in Abuja had to shut down after coming under attack because of xenophobic violence in South Africa.
“It is causing huge reputational damage,” MTN executive for group corporate affairs Chris Maroleng told News24.
He said there was peaceful protest action outside its Abuja office on Tuesday – not Wednesday, as reported – and a memorandum was handed over.
The only “disruption” was for about an hour when MTN staff could not access the building due to the protest outside, said Maroleng.
The Daily Sun newspaper was quoted on the website Naij.com as saying that more than 100 youths converged at the MTN premises, carrying placards with different inscriptions.
Based on this, News24 earlier reported that the MTN office immediately shut down its operations and suspended its service, but Maroleng said this information was false.
“Our business is fully operational,” said Maroleng. – News24
