On Thursday, March 14, 2024, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed that internet service disruptions in Nigeria and neighboring countries were a result of the damage incurred.

“A combination of cable cuts, resulting in equipment faults on the major undersea cables along the West African Coast, have negatively impacted data and fixed telecom services in several countries of West Africa”

The NCC said

According to NetBlocks, an organization specializing in cybersecurity and internet governance monitoring, the connectivity disruption is impacting eight West African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and the Benin Republic.

Announcing the development in a post on its X handle, the organisation said, “Live network data show today’s telecoms disruption in #Africa has intensified; the incident has high impact to West Africa with significant reductions in connectivity evident across the continent; operators report multiple subsea cable failures.”

Confirming the disruption, Nigeria’s telecommunications giant, MTN, issued an apology to its customers regarding the prolonged poor internet services.

In a statement on Thursday, the company attributed the issue to “a damage to international undersea cables across East and West Africa.”

Nevertheless, MTN assured customers that efforts were underway to expedite resolution. Corroborating this, the NNC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, stated that cable operators had pledged to work tirelessly to restore internet service to the affected countries.