Telecommunication services have been shut down in 13 local government areas of Katsina State.
According to DailyTrust, the affected by the development which may not be unconnected with the ongoing security operations against bandits in the North West.
The affected LGAs are Sabuwa, Faskari, Dandume, Batsari, Danmusa, Kankara, Jibia, Safana, Dutsin-Ma and Kurfi that are on the fringes of Ruggu forest where most of the bandits are hiding.
The other three include Funtua, Bakori and Malumfashi.
The new development comes a few days after National Communications Commission (NCC) denied plan to shut down telecom sites in Katsina.
NCC refuted a trending social media story claiming that the commission had ordered telecom service providers to shut down their sites in Katsina.
In a statement, Director General (Media), Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, said the Executive Vice Chaiman/CEO of NCC, Professor Umar D. Danbatta, had spoken to the state government on the matter where he said the story was false.
The NCC VC/CEO added that the purported letter trending in the social media was a cloned version of the one sent to Zamfara State, where there is a total shutdown of telecom sites.
Read Also: Insecurity: NCC Directs Telecom Companies To Suspend Services In Zamfara
NCC had issued a directive to telecom operators to shut down their services in the neighbouring Zamfara State as from September 3, to enable security agencies carry out required operations in relation to the pervasive security challenges.
The commission in a letter addressed to Chief Executive Officers of the telecoms companies, said the decision is “to enable relevant security agencies to carry out required activities towards addressing the security challenges in the state.”
Read Also: Zamfara Commissioner Says Dealing With Bandits Easier Since Telecom Services Shutdown
Later on, Zamfara State Commissioner for Information in the State, Ibrahim Dosara, said the military onslaught against the bandits was yielding tremendous success especially since the shutdown of telecoms services in the state.
