Crime
NCC shuts down telecommunication services in Zamfara
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has shut down all telecommunication services in Zamfara state.
The latest development which is to be upheld for two weeks comes after the incessant string of killings and kidnappings ravaging the state in the past few weeks.
The order was announced in a memo released on Friday by the vice-chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, who addressed it to one of the telecoms providers in the state.
The memo read: “The pervading security situation in Zamfara has necessitated an immediate shutdown of all telecommunications services in the state from today, September 3, 2021. This is to enable relevant security agencies to carry out the required activities towards addressing the security challenge in the state.
“In line with this requirement, Globacom is hereby directed to shut down all sites in Zamfara State and any sites(s) in neighbouring states that could provide telecommunications services in Zamfara State. The site shut down is for two weeks from September 3 to September 17, 2021, in the first instance. Your urgent action in this regard is required.”
The memo comes six months after the Federal Government declared Zamfara State a ‘no-fly zone’, while it banned all mining activities in the state.
The Northwestern state has been the epicenter of killings and kidnappings in recent weeks.
It can be recalled that Chronicle NG reported the abdcuction of over 73 students from Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, while they were having classes on Wednesday morning.
The abduction occurred 11 days after students abducted from the College of Agriculture in Bakura, Zamfara, regained their freedom.
Less than 24 hours after the school kidnapping, a police station was attacked, where a policeman and a vigilante were killed.
The state governor Bello Matawalle also suspended the transportation of livestock beyond the state’s borders and ordered the closure of weekly markets across the state, while transportation of food items will be subject to verification.
