If you've followed me over the last year, you'll know I've been extremely critical of Nigerian telcos, especially MTN and Airtel, alongside the NCC and FCPC, over one issue: data zapping.

Like many Nigerians, I've watched my data consumption change dramatically over the last 12-18 months in ways that don't align with my actual usage habits.

Between 2022 and 2024, I consistently loaded the same 20GB monthly plan. Most of my day was spent on WiFi at work and at home — my MTN line sits inside an Android phone I barely use outside morning podcasts, while my Airtel line is in my iPhone.

Back then, around 15GB would still be left by month's end. Sometimes I'd buy an extra 1GB just to preserve rollover benefits — I could repeat that cycle for months before exhausting the data.

Today, that same 20GB disappears within 3-6 days of light use. That shift makes no sense to me.

To be fair, I understand tariff increases — inflation, forex pressure, diesel costs, infrastructure and staffing all affect telecom companies too. They're businesses, not charities. Higher tariffs were probably inevitable. But they still don't explain why the same usage pattern now consumes data exponentially faster on a phone I barely touch.

I'd publicly floated the possibility of a class action before, and I suspect some highly-placed friends saw it — I received an invitation to MTN's “Data on Trial” event over the weekend. The event itself was genuinely creative.

The Defense

The entire exercise simulated a courtroom. Tomi Agbaje served as lead counsel for the prosecution, MTN executives led by the CTO represented the defense, and Ebuka played judge. It was smart, funny and impressively produced.

Beyond the theatrics, MTN did try to address Nigerians' frustrations. CEO Karl Toriola admitted that even “a GM at MTN still doesn't fully understand how data works,” and the company reiterated the necessity of tariff increases.