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.
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