Professionals in
the telecommunication sector have frowned at the killing of six staff
of MTN Nigeria at the firm’s Base Transceiver Station (BTS) site in
Aba, Abia State.
A project manager
of MTN in Aba, one Valentine, explained that the incident took place
last week while the staff went to work at the site.
“This is to inform
you that our team of engineers went out to work at Gabby Oil, Aba Road,
Aba, Abia State, and while working on the generator, four gunmen walked
into the BTS site while the team of engineers were waiting for the RBS
to load after bringing up the generator and held them at gunpoint,” Mr.
Valentine said in a report to the company’s head office.
“One Petrolseal
engineer, two Mopol men, the rigger, and the security man were killed
outright while the second Petrolseal engineer died on arrival at the
hospital,” he said.
Titi Omo-Ettu, the
president of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria
(ATCON), said in an email message that the murders are shocking.
“Nobody living in
Nigeria can pretend that this is a new development, but this certainly
is one murder too callous to be regarded as one of the usual stories.
We commiserate with MTN and with the families of the murdered persons,”
he said.
Government must act now
Mr. Omo-Ettu,
however, said the increase in criminal activities in the country shows
that the government is helpless and must act now before it loses its
relevance.
“We invite
attention of the Federal Government to these murders and kidnappings,
which is now blatantly portraying government as helpless. The essence
of governance is now appearing to be meaningless while living and
investing in our country may be becoming anathema to all peoples of the
world,” he said.
“Our association
pledges to do all things possible to assist the police in investigating
this incident and we invite the attention of the new Inspector General
of Police to the need to see this as one case which requires speedy
investigation and prosecution of those found culpable, as this will
determine where we go from here. Criminal acts of this nature have been
encouraged because perpetrators are hardly ever caught and prosecuted,”
Mr. Omo-Ettu said.
Enough is Enough
Telecom operators
have reported that security is a major challenge to them, as their BTS
sites are constantly vandalised by hoodlums.
In a press
conference last week, Gbenga Adebayo, the president of the Association
of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said apart
from the recent shutdown of some BTS sites around the country, some
equipment at the sites are constantly vandalised and stolen. He said
this affects national security as well.
“Peace, investment,
life, and living, have now been threatened to a level that makes it
necessary to invite the president, Goodluck Jonathan, to please
intervene urgently,” Mr. Omo -Ettu said.
“Enough is enough, and a country that seeks the loftiest theme of vision 20-2020 cannot continue to go on like this,” he said.
Only two personnel
survived the armed attack at the BTS; one Ericssion engineer and his
driver hid behind the RBS units in the site, so the fired bullets
missed them.
