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Ride-hailing company Bolt has blocked an undisclosed number of accounts involved in requesting fake rides and cancelling them on the app.
This followed a social media trend between Nigerians and South Africans in which a user from either country would order a ride in another and cancel it once the driver arrived at the pickup location.
“We understand the impact this situation has had on our driver-partners in Nigeria and South Africa. We are committed to ensuring a safe, reliable, and secure experience for all members of our community,” said Yahaya Mohammed, country manager of Nigeria at Bolt.
The digital war, which was started by the South Africans and tagged 'Request in Nigeria Challenge,' represents another dimension to the rivalries between citizens of Nigeria and the Rainbow Nation.
It's been described as a continuation of the beef emanating from the recent participation of Nigerian-born model, Chidimma Adetshina, in the Miss South Africa pageant following backlash and xenophobic attacks she suffered due to her nationality.
On Thursday, August 22, 2024, screenshots of South African citizens making fake Bolt requests in Nigeria circulated on social media.
"When I'm bored, I request in Nigeria, akere their brothers are disrespecting us," a South African farmer, Nimrod Ernest captioned the screenshot of a fake Bolt order in a now-deleted post on X.
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Nigerians return the favour to South Africans
However, the so-called challenge quickly assumed another dimension when Nigerian Bolt users started returning the favours as many users shared screenshots of prank rider requests in South Africa on X.
The trend reportedly triggered a disruption on the app in both countries as artificial surges and ride cancellations left drivers in frustration.
“I drove from Cape Town to Stellenbosch to pick up a customer only to realise it was a fake request.
“That’s almost 50km worth of fuel gone because of internet jokes,” one Cape Town-based driver told TechCabal.
Due to Bolt's policy of non-reimbursement to drivers for fuel spent on cancelled riders, some drivers have resorted to rejecting long-distance requests until normalcy is restored.