Bolt, the e-hailing transport company, has announced that it has blocked an undisclosed number of accounts requesting fake rides and canceling them.
The company took this measure on Thursday in response to the digital war involving some Nigerian and South African users of its app.
Bolt also restricted intercountry ride requests to reduce the trend, which has left many of its other users stranded due to unavailable rides.
“Bolt is aware of the recent fake ride requests between individuals in Nigeria and South Africa. We’ve swiftly implemented measures to resolve the issue and have restricted inter-country ride requests,” the company wrote on X formerly known as Twitter.
The online battle began after some South African Bolt and Uber customers gloated over booking fake rides in Nigeria, sending drivers on false errands to particular pick-up locations only to cancel the rides when the driver arrives.
The South African users also shared videos mocking the drivers who fell victim to such schemes.
Reacting to the situation, Yahaya Muhammed, the country manager of Bolt Nigeria, said the transport company has “blocked all intercountry ride requests” to stop the ongoing schemes.
“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,” he said.
Uber has yet to comment on the trend, as of the time of this report.
The online war is believed to be connected to the recent controversy surrounding Chidimma Adetshina, the Nigerian-South African model, who withdrew from the Miss SA beauty pageant over apparent xenophobic attacks.
