Court Voids NCC's Suspension Of APC's Fund-Raising Platform

Court Voids NCC's Suspension Of APC's Fund-Raising Platform 

*Party demands N25b from defendants

Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday granted the All Progressives Congress (APC) an ex-parte order restraining the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and five telecommunications firms from suspending its presidential campaign fund-raising SMS scheme.

The judge through the interim injunction also barred Etisalat,  MTN, Glo, Airtel and Visafone from giving effect to the directive from NCC which ordered them to stop running the campaign fund-raising platform. 

Specifically, the court ordered the telecoms firms "to continue to run, operate and/or restore to its full operative use the SMS Code platform 35350 created for fund-raising for the applicant's presidential campaign."

According to  Justice Buba the orders are to subsist pending the hearing and determination of APC's originating motion on notice. 

He also granted the party leave to serve the originating motion on notice and other processes on NCC (the first defendant) outside the court's jurisdiction. 

In the main suit filed by APC’s counsel, Kola Awodein (SAN), the party is demanding the sum of N25 billon as damages for the alleged banning of its presidential campaign fund-raising scheme by the NCC and inhibiting its financial capacity to prosecute its presidential campaign towards the February 14 election.

Joined with the NCC as respondents in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/16/15 are Etisalat, MTN Nigeria Limited, Globacom Limited, Airtel Nigeria and Visafone Communications Limited.

The party is urging the court to declare the NCC’s directive as “unconstitutional, illegal, null, void and of no effect” argued that the NCC acted ultra vires its power when it gave such directive against the provisions of sections 39 and 42 of the Nigerian Constitution.

In an 18-paragragh affidavit attached to the suit and deposed to by one Ademola Sodiq, the APC accused the NCC of instructing the 2nd to 6th respondents to discontinue an SMS platform it created for the purpose of getting donations from willing members of the public for its presidential campaign.

According to Sodiq, the participatory fund-raising strategy was for members of the public to contribute N100 to the APC’s presidential campaign fund each time they sent APC as an SMS to 35350.

Sodiq explained that the party’s strategy was borne out of its commitment to raising fund for its presidential campaign in a “transparent and accountable manner.”

The deponent said that within few hours of launching the strategy the party wasmgetting about four to five text messages per a minute and had received a total of 5,400 SMS before the NCC directed the telecommunications service providers to discontinue the scheme.

Sodiq said, “Shortly after the applicant announced its participatory fund-raising strategy on Tuesday, January 20, 2015, the first respondent immediately
addressed a letter to the 2nd respondent, which was received in Lagos, wherein a purported directive was given to all telecommunications service providers (2nd to 6th respondents inclusive), warning them “to avoid running political advertisement/promotions that will portray them as being partisan.”

According to Sodiq, the NCC in the letter with reference number NCC/CAB/GEN/2015/Vol.1/004 and back-dated January 19, 2015 also threatened to
sanction the telecommunications service providers if they failed to discontinue the SMS forthwith.

Sodiq said, “Since the purported directive of the 1st respondent which affects the applicant’s SMS code 35350 platform, members, loyalists, supporters,
sympathisers and other Nigerians, who intend to donate to the presidential campaign of the applicant have been incapacitated from using the platform, which has inhibited the plaintiff’s financial capacity to effectively prosecute its presidential campaign.”

Accusing the NCC of discriminating against the APC, Sodiq said he remembered and had proof that President Goodluck Jonathan and his vice, Namadi Sambo, in 2010 raised fund for their campaign using short codes designated: 6661, 662, 6663 and 6664, registered with one Wagitel Communications Limited.

According to Sodiq, by banning the APC presidential campaign fund-raising scheme, the NCC contravened Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and Articles 9
(1) (2) and 19 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Justice Buba has adjourned the suit till February 4 to hear the substantive suit.