In June 2026 a post on X about unexplained ₦100 deductions on MTN lines spread widely enough that thousands of Nigerians dialled *305# to check their own accounts, and a great many found services running that they never knowingly subscribed to. That code lists every paid subscription sitting on an MTN line and lets you cancel each one. Sending STOP to 2442 would not have found any of them.
Two different problems get treated as one in almost every guide on this subject. The Do Not Disturb short code blocks unsolicited promotional messages from third parties, and it does nothing about services already billing you. If your complaint is a noisy inbox, 2442 is your answer. If your complaint is airtime disappearing, you need the subscription menu on your network instead, and most people need both.
What 2442 actually blocks, and what it leaves alone
The Nigerian Communications Commission introduced the Do Not Disturb service in 2016 and it works identically across MTN, Glo, Airtel and T2. It is free, it takes effect within about 24 hours, and you can turn it on or off as often as you like.
Four keywords cover everything, and all of them go to 2442:
- STOP activates full DND and blocks all unsolicited promotional SMS and automated voice calls from third-party senders.
- HELP returns the current list of message categories so you can allow some through while blocking the rest.
- STATUS confirms your settings actually applied, which is worth checking because activations sometimes fail silently.
- ALLOW switches DND off again, though Glo lines sometimes require CANCEL instead.
The category list the NCC set out runs from 1 to 9, covering banking and financial products, real estate, education, health, consumer goods and automobiles, communications and entertainment, tourism and leisure, sport, and religion. Texting the number for a category to 2442 allows that one through. Since the networks occasionally adjust the wording, work from the list that comes back when you text HELP rather than any list published elsewhere.
What DND does not touch is worth knowing before you assume it failed. It does not block messages from your own network about its own products, which is a long-standing complaint and the reason many people say DND did nothing for them. It also leaves bank alerts, OTPs, delivery notifications and ordinary person-to-person messages alone, which is what you want.
The messages taking your airtime are subscriptions, and they need cancelling separately
Value Added Services are the daily jokes, football updates, horoscopes, trivia games, devotionals and caller tunes that quietly renew and charge you ₦50 or ₦100 at a time. Many arrive through a mistyped USSD entry, a promotional link, or a menu option someone selected without reading. DND will not remove them because you are technically subscribed, so the billing continues regardless of what 2442 says about your preferences.
Here is where to cancel them on each network:
- MTN: dial *305# and choose Manage Active Services, then unsubscribe from each one listed. If that menu does not load, *123*5*1# reaches the same place. Caller Tunes is separate, so text STOP to 4100. Data auto-renewal sits under *312# in the data plan management menu. The MyMTN app shows the same list under Manage Services, and 180 is free to call if a service refuses to cancel.
- Glo: text CANCEL to 127 to stop data auto-renewal, and use the *777# menu for subscriptions more broadly.
- Airtel: use the *121# service menu to find and cancel active subscriptions.
- T2 (formerly 9mobile): use *200# for subscriptions, and *229*0# to stop data auto-renewal specifically.
The most reliable method of all needs no code. Every promotional message that bills you arrives from a short code, and sending STOP as a reply to that exact short code cancels that specific service more often than any general menu does. Keep the message rather than deleting it, since the number you need is attached to it.
Check your line even when nothing looks wrong
Services accumulate slowly and quietly, which is what makes them profitable. A line can carry three or four small subscriptions for months without the owner noticing, particularly on a phone used by more than one person or one where the airtime balance is rarely checked closely. Running your network’s subscription menu once a month takes under a minute and is the only reliable way to catch them.
Pay closer attention after anything unusual, such as a period of heavy USSD use, a new SIM, or a phone that has been handed to a child. Wait for the confirmation SMS each time you cancel something, because an unsubscribe request that fails silently leaves the billing running. If a service keeps reappearing after you cancel it, that is worth escalating rather than repeating.
Where to escalate when the network ignores you
Customer care is 300 on all networks since the NCC harmonised the number, and that is the first stop for a deduction you want reversed. Ask specifically for the service name, the date it was activated and the method of activation, since operators are required to be able to show consent was given. Deductions made without valid consent can be refunded, though you generally have to ask rather than being offered.
The NCC’s toll-free consumer line is 622 and it exists precisely for complaints the network has failed to resolve. The Commission has said publicly that it pursues telemarketers who obtain phone numbers illegally, so a report about persistent messages from a specific sender is not wasted effort. Have your DND status, the short codes involved and the dates ready before you call.
What to do at the phone level once the network side is settled
Android’s Messages app has spam protection under Settings > Spam protection, and any individual short code can be blocked by opening the conversation and choosing Block from its menu. Blocking works on your device rather than at the network, so it hides the message without stopping the billing, which is why it belongs after the subscription cancellation rather than instead of it.
The whole exercise takes about ten minutes and holds for months. Text STOP to 2442 to quiet the promotional traffic, run your network’s subscription menu to cancel anything billing you, reply STOP to the short code of anything that survives, and check again in a few weeks. Anyone still being charged after all that has a complaint worth taking to 622 rather than a setting left unchanged.
