By Swift Correspondent
A Nigerian woman has taken telecommunications giant MTN to court after her father was allegedly arrested twice over a phone number linked to criminal activities committed by its previous owner.
The woman is seeking legal redress over what she considers a serious failure in the telecommunications company’s handling of recycled phone numbers, which allegedly turned her father into an unsuspecting victim of circumstances.
According to the account, the trouble began after MTN assigned her father a phone number that had previously belonged to another individual.
Unknown to him, the number had allegedly been used by its former owner in connection with criminal activities before it was deactivated and eventually reassigned.
The father reportedly continued using the number without knowing its history, only to find himself facing law enforcement scrutiny over activities allegedly committed by someone else.
In a particularly troubling development, he was reportedly arrested twice in connection with the number, raising concerns about the consequences of reassigning previously used telephone lines without adequately addressing their history.
The daughter has now reportedly taken the matter to court, seeking accountability from MTN over the ordeal her father allegedly endured.
The case has brought renewed attention to the practice of recycling mobile phone numbers, a common industry practice in which telecommunications companies reassign inactive or disconnected numbers to new subscribers.
While the practice allows operators to manage limited numbering resources and make previously unused lines available to customers, it can also create complications when a new subscriber inherits a number previously associated with another person’s activities.
A recycled number may remain linked to old contacts, online accounts, financial services or records used by law enforcement, potentially exposing an innocent new owner to confusion and unwanted consequences.
The case also raises broader questions about the responsibility of telecommunications operators to protect new subscribers from problems associated with the previous use of reassigned numbers.
For customers, the incident serves as a reminder to ensure that newly acquired phone numbers are properly registered and that any suspicious calls, messages or allegations linked to previous ownership are promptly reported to the relevant authorities.
MTN’s response to the reported lawsuit and the specific circumstances surrounding the alleged arrests was not included in the account.