Telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria
Limited, has gone before a Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge the
$3.9bn imposed on it by the Nigeria Communications Commission for
failure to disconnect its unregistered subscribers.
The company, which filed the suit
through its legal team comprising Chief Wole Olanipekun, Tanimola
Molajo, A.B. Mahmoud, Dr. Gbolahan Elias, Oladipo Okpeseyi, Prof. Fabian
Ajogwu and Dr. Oladapo Olanipekun, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria, is
urging the court to quash the $3.9bn imposed on it.
Joined as a co-defendant with NCC is the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Among other things, the plaintiff is
urging the court to determine whether NCC can act pursuant to Section 70
of the NCC Act to impose a fine on it in view of the provisions of
sections 1 (3), 4 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution.
It argued that by imposing a fine on it,
the commission was already usurping “the exclusive legislative powers
of the National Assembly, as well as the judicial powers of the courts
established under the constitution.”
The plaintiff claimed that it was not
afforded its constitutional right of fair hearing before a court of
competent jurisdiction and insisted that it had not been found guilty of
any offence to warrant the fine of $3.9bn imposed on it.
