The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has faulted the competence of the suit filed by MTN Nigeria Communications Limited challenging the N1.04 trillion fine slammed on it (MTN) for allegedly breaching NCC’s statutory and regulatory directives.
MTN had sued NCC before the Federal High Court, Lagos and sought to void NCC’s decision to penalize it for failing to among others, register about 5.2 million subscribers within a given deadline.
NCC, in a motion on notice, prepared on its behalf by a group of lawyers including Ahmed Raji (SAN) and Mahmud Magaji (SAN), queried the competence of the suit, the court’s jurisdiction to hear it and argued that MTN failed to ensure proper service of court documents on its.
It is the NCC’s contention that the suit was wrongly instituted in the Lagos division of the Federal High Court and that MTN, in serving to court processes on it, failed to comply with the provision of section 143 of the NCC Act which stipulates that all court processes are to be served at the principal office of NCC.
NCC argued that it was not only wrong for MTN to have served court processes in relation to the suit on its Lagos office, the telecommunication company initiated the suit at the wrong venue by going before the Federal High Court, Lagos, which lacked the territorial jurisdiction to determine the dispute.
It stated, in a supporting affidavit, that not only did all facts relating to the dispute occur in Abuja, both defendants in the suit – NCC and the Attorney general of the Federation (AGF) – have their principal offices in Abuja.
NCC therefore prayed the court to set aside the purported service of all processes in the case on it. In the alternative, it wants the court to either decline jurisdiction over the case or transfer it to its Abuja division.
MTN is, by the suit, challenging NCC’s powers of to impose fine even as a regulator.
It is MTN’s contention that 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.
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.”
MTN stated 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.
It wants the court to among others, 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. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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NCC are bunch of criminals trying to have some people loose their jobs due to their selfish needs.
ReplyDeleteListen my friend. If your company flaunts a directive of the government in South Africa, you will go to jail. The CBN is the regulatory arm of got on banks. Any bank that disobeys a circular is sanctioned. Mtn must pay.
DeleteMTN must pay wether they like it or not... They can win the suit
ReplyDeleteHmm... Law na good thing o; imagine MTN sha. You carry Nigerian case go meet Nigeria to solve for you. Na money you just dey waste and your Nigerian lawyers can not fit to ever tell you. Naija don plan una finish. On top una matter, Nigeria don talk say na for una masts naim dem install all radio biafra transmitters. Una never meet Naija abi?
ReplyDeleteOK. Contunu.
@ anonymous December 30, 2015 at 7:34 AM :::::hahahaha u tooooo much , dis yor inglix na dai. i love it
DeleteThey must pay or pack and leave our country Nigeria
ReplyDeleteNigeria is counting down to the deadline of 31st December. Pay the fine first, then the court will decide about whether we should refund it after, if the ruling is in your favour. Thank you, Yhello!
ReplyDeletePay the fine first, MTN! Midnight December 31st is already beckoning. Avoid us shutting down your network.
ReplyDeleteClearly mtn has a bad case. Mediation on how much they should pay is a better option. Jonas went to south Africa to buy arms when there was a conspiracy by the super power arms dealer to frustrate jonas. South African seized the mOney and caused the govt embarrassment. Discerning minds knew the truth then but politic these are nigeria laws you must obey and do business here successfully. We have a sherriff in town
ReplyDeleteMTN,whosoever us advising you is doing do wrongly. You are operating in a country which is governed by standards, laws & procedure which you sworn to be committed you. You started with over billing of your clients at your incession, because the Nigerian people needed your services, they went all out for it. I can still remember when I had to buy a sim card for 22k. Thanks to Glo. Airtel, Etisalat & co who came to our rescue.
ReplyDeleteThe government came up with a directive to register your subscribers bore out incessant kidnaps & other related fraud. Instead of you helping the nigerian government & the people to fight this course, you chose the other way. Is that MTN is bigger than the Nigerian government as NCC are simply ambassador of the Nigerian government.
Let the truth be told, even in South Africa where MTN have her parent company, can they flaunt their government directives?. Come on, MTN u guys are totally wrong. There is no need to be sentimental that people will loose their job, of course that is the plan the top management always have in place as part of their deliverables especially when the company have achieved some relative stability.
Weather,as regulator NCC has a right to impose fine on MTN or not, MTN has disobeyed the law of the land in Nigeria and they must be penalized. Who does the penalizing I don't know. But due process must be followed and NCC must not threatened out of this course by whatever power there is up there. This is a sure test case in Nigeria for foreign investors towards compliance.