MTN Drags FG, NCC To Court Over $3.9b Fine

MTN Drags FG, NCC To Court Over $3.9b Fine

Telecommunication company, MTN has dragged the federal government and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) before the Federal High Court in Lagos, challenge the $3.9billion sanction imposed on it by the NCC.

MTN is urging the court to quash the fine because the NCC does not have the constitutional power to impose such a fine on it.

 It will be recalled that NCC had in October this year slammed the South African telecoms giant with a fine of $5.2billion for allegedly failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers and prescribe a deadline of December 31, 2015 for payment of the said fine.

The commission later reduced the initial fine by 25 per cent to $3.9billion earlier this month, with a payment deadline set for December 31.

However, MTN through its team of lawyers namely:  Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Tanimola Molajo (SAN), A.B, Mahmoud (SAN), Dr. Gbolahan Elias (SAN), Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN): Prof. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), Dr. Oladapo Olanipekun (SAN) through an originating summons, is challenging the powers of NCC to impose the fine on it.

According to MTN the NCC being a regulator, cannot assume all the functions of the state on its own, considering the fact that they made the regulation, prescribed the penalty and imposed the fine, payable to the commission and not the federal government.

The telecoms company also claimed that it was not afforded its constitutional right of fair hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction and more importantly, it had not been found guilty of any offence that will warrant it to pay such outrageous fine.

MTN further maintained that the sanction imposed on it by NCC was within 24 hours of its written submission on the disconnection exercise and the impractical nature of the NCC deadline.

It claimed that the deadline of seven days to disconnect 5.2 million subscribers was grossly inadequate and impracticable, the telecoms company said the deadline to disconnect 5,200,000 subscribers was unfair and ran contrary to the requirement to give adequate notice to the subscribers and all operators.

The company accused the regulatory agency of acting  as a legislator, executor, accuser, prosecutor, judge and beneficiary of the penalty imposed and tthat the sanction (N200,000 per SIM) imposed on it was excessive.

MTN insisted that the fine imposed on it, till date, is the highest fine ever imposed on a telecommunications company in the world, wondering if the fine is truly commensurate to the purported breach and if would not this frustrate the business of the company in Nigeria.

Sued alongside the NCC is the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and Minister of Justice.

MTN wants to court to determine whether having regard to the clear and unambiguous provisions of sections 1 (3), 4 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution(as amended), if the regulatory agency can validly exercise section 70 of the NCC Act in a manner that encroaches on the exclusive legislative powers of the National Assembly, as well as the judicial powers of the courts established under the Constitution?

It also stated that further to, and having regard to the express tenor of sections 1 (2) 4 and 6 of the Constitution when read together with section 70 of the NCC, whether the 1stdefendant’s promulgation of regulations 11, 19 and 20 of its Act (Registration of Telephone Subscribers) Regulations 2011 is not ultra vires its subsidiary rule-making powers and an encroachment on the legislative powers of the National Assembly, as well as the judicial powers of the courts established under the Constitution?

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.