Cossy_Erik Two lawyers, who are subscribers to MTN, have
filed a legal suit against the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) as first
respondent and MTN Nigeria as second
respondent, over the N1.04 trillion fine imposed
on MTN by NCC on SIM card deactivation.
The lawyers, Mr. Oluyinka Oyeniji and Chief Deolu
Ogunbanjo, both incorporated trustees of
National Association of Telecoms Subscribers
(NATCOM), have challenged NCC at the Federal
High Court, sitting in Lagos, praying the court to
stop NCC from further imposing fine on MTN.
They also want the court to compel NCC to
account for all the monies it collected from
telecoms operators in the past as fines, and to pay
such monies to subscribers as compensation for
poor service quality they had suffered from in the
past.
According to the court document, both lawyers,
who are applicants one and two respectively in the
court case, are calling for an order of perpetual
injunction, restraining the first respondent (NCC)
from further imposing or exerting any fine in
respect of registration of telephone subscribers
on the second respondent (MTN).
They called for an order, mandating the first
respondent to commission, establish and conduct
monthly updates on the central database and to
conduct rigorous campaign for applicants and
other telephone subscribers to update their
particulars with the respondents.
They equally called for an order, mandating the
respondents to publish newspaper apologies to
the applicants and other telephone subscribers for
the lack of establishment, maintenance and
conducting updates on the central database.
In a sworn affidavit, the lawyers mandated NCC to
account for all the fines it had imposed on
telecoms operators and pay applicants as well as
other telephone subscribers as compensation,
and to continue to pay fines exerted and imposed
upon conviction as compensation to applicants
and other telephone subscribers.