SAN FRANCISCO, December 29, (THEWILL) – Legal firework began on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Lagos as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit filed by MTN Nigeria, challenging the decision of NCC to place a fine of N1.O4 trillion on the telecommunication giant.
Four Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), namely Dr. Wale Babalakin, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, Mr. Paul Usoro and Mr. Ahmed Raji, who led the NCC team of lawyers asked the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos where MTN filed the suit to decline jurisdiction over the case, asking the court to transfer the case to Abuja division of the court where the cause of action arose.
NCC further asked the Lagos court to set aside the purported service of the originating summons and other processes in the matter for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 143 of the commission’s Act.
The commission, in an affidavit filed in support of the motion on notice deposed to by Anone Anthony Usman from Ahmed Raji and. Co., said the decision of the NCC to fine the telecommunication company was taken in Abuja on October 20, 2015 outside the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, Lagos.
NCC, which argued that the proper and convenient forum for the determination of the case was the Abuja division of the court, also maintained that the Abuja division of the court had the territorial jurisdiction to handle the case and that is where the performance of the demand of the 1st defendant on the plaintiff (MTN) would take place.
MTN had dragged the NCC and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice before the court to challenge the N1.04trillion fine placed on it, urging the court to quash the fine.
NCC had imposed the fine on MTN for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers on its network as directed by the industry regulator.
Though the initial fine of $5.2billion was reduced by 25 per cent to $3.9billion , with a payment deadline set for December 31, MTN through its team of counsel made up of Chief Wole Olanipekun, Tanimola Molajo, A.B, Mahmoud , Dr. Gbolahan Elias, Oladipo Okpeseyi, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, Dr. Oladapo Olanipekun (all SAN) filed an originating summons, challenging the powers of NCC to impose such a fine on it.
MTN, through its lawyers, argued that on the basis that NCC being a regulator, could not assume all the functions of the state on its own, considering the fact that it made the regulation, prescribed the penalty and imposed the fine, payable to it and not the Federal Government.
The telecommunication giant also alleged that its constitutional right to fair hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction was not respected and more importantly, it had not been found guilty of any offence that would warrant it to pay such fine which it described as outrageous.
