While Nigerians was fighting COVID-19, MTN Nigeria had successfully conducted a 5G network trial in Nigeria following a successful one in South Africa. The Telco giant may have carried out the demo without license since The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, on Saturday disclosed that no license has been issued for Fifth Generation Mobile Networks popularly known as 5G in Nigeria.
Recently, opinions from several persons, professionals in the field of Information Technology, celebrities and clerics on the effects of 5G network is gradually making a lot of people around the world to believe a theoretical conspiracy which blames the lunch of 5G network for the cause of Covid-19 pandemic across the world.
These theoretical conspiracies linking Covid-19 virus and 5G network have been more prominent in The United Kingdom, United State of America and some Asian countries. The conspiracies led to a revolt against British 5G towers and a lot of them are being set on fire because of coronavirus conspiracy theories.
Former Nigerian Senator Dino Melaye and Pastor Chris Oyahkilome are part of the public figures who have made these conspiracies spread in Nigeria. Dino Melaye described 5G network as evil, stated that it kills the immune system, affects the respiratory system, and causes cancer and hypertension and indirectly causing the deaths of Coronavirus patients. He also claims there are 5G masts in Abuja and Ikeja in Lagos State.
In the wake of these conspiracies and the debunk of issuance of 5G network licence by FG, the announcement made by MTN Nigeria, dated November 28, 2019, claiming to be the first in Nigeria and the whole West Africa to conduct a trial of the 5G technology is being circulated on social media. See the public announcement below;
