BY GABRIEL MICHEAL—-Mobile phone users across Nigeria filed 413,587 grievances against their network providers between January and June 2026, citing poor connections, vanishing data, wrong charges, botched payments and a range of other problems.
The numbers come from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and cover the four largest mobile operators.
Airtel was named in 228,992 of the cases, the biggest share. MTN followed with 124,405, Globacom with 56,810 and T2mobile, previously 9mobile, with 3,885.
The operators say they have dealt with 406,938 of the cases, or 98.38 per cent of the total.
Disappearing data was a prominent source of frustration. MTN logged 12,212 such cases, Airtel 9,806, Globacom 1,373 and T2mobile just five.
Other grievances touched on call and internet quality, disputed bills, unsuccessful payments, airtime and recharge difficulties, number transfers between networks, value-added services and SIM matters.
The figures arrive as Nigerians lean ever more heavily on their phones for banking, trade, schooling, staying in touch and everyday tasks, which raises the stakes for dependable, transparent service.
Regarding fast-draining data, operators and the regulator have earlier listed possible culprits: high-definition streaming, videos that start on their own, system updates, cloud backups and apps running behind the scenes. The NCC’s figures reflect what subscribers reported and do not, on their own, reveal what caused any particular case.
Unsuccessful airtime or data purchases remain a sore point too. According to the NCC, these can stem from short-lived network faults, glitches between banks and mobile networks, outages or wrongly entered details.
The regulator says its framework for handling consumer disputes lets it address grievances and track how quickly operators respond.
Subscribers are advised to take their problems to their service provider first and keep any reference numbers they are given. Those who remain unhappy with the outcome can take the matter up with the NCC.
The half-year data offers a snapshot of what Nigerian mobile users are struggling with as phones become central to economic and social life.
Although most cases are reported closed, the sheer volume of grievances underlines how much network quality, clear billing, dependable transactions and responsive customer care still matter across the industry.
