On August 1, 2024, Nigerians faced significant network downtime, which impacted internet speed and accessibility.
Many people struggled with slow connections while trying to work or attend virtual meetings due to a widespread youth-led protest against economic hardships and high inflation.
The protest, which targets President Bola Tinubu’s policies, led to a five-day disruption in internet services, leaving remote workers and online students frustrated.
The outage affected various users, from journalists to teachers, causing missed deadlines and disrupted classes.
Concerns arose that the outage was linked to the ongoing protest. Civil society groups accused authorities of deliberately throttling internet speed to hinder the protest, while industry sources cited possible external sabotage and infrastructure issues.
The Communications Minister denied any intentional disruption but acknowledged potential traffic surges affecting connectivity.