NATCOMS Sues NCC, Asks Court to Halt N647.5m Fines

National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), on Tuesday approached a Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) from carrying out its imposed fines on the three network providers.

NCC, the registered trustees of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), MTN Nigeria Communication Limited, Airtel Network Limited, Emerging Market telecommunication Services Limited (Etisalat) and Globacom Limited are joined in the suite as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th defendants/respondents respectively.

A statement by Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, national president (NATCOMS), reads, “We have filed AN ORDER OF INTERLOCUTORY INJUNCTION  restraining the 1st defendant/respondent, its agents, privies, assigns including but not limited to its directors and officers, or any other persons or group of persons deriving authority through them from acting or purporting to act or giving effect to the 1st defendant/respondent’s  decision purportedly imposing a fine of N185million on 3rd & 4th defendant/respondents each and N277.5milllion on the 6th defendant/respondent on account of poor quality service, pending the final determination of the substantive suit.

2.    AN ORDER OF INTERLOCUTORY INJUNCTION  restraining the 3rd, 4th & 6th defendants/respondents, their agents, privies, assigns including but not limited to their directors and officers, or any other persons or group of persons deriving authority through them from acting or purporting to act or giving effect to or complying with 1st defendant/respondent’s decision purportedly imposing a fine of N185million on 3rd & 4th defendants/respondents each and N277.5milion on the 6th defendants/respondents on account of poor quality service, pending the final determination of the substantive suit.

ALTERNATIVE TO RELIEF TWO ABOVE
AN ORDER OF INTERLOCUTORY INJUNCTION restraining or forbidding the 3rd, 4th & 6th defendants/respondents, their agents, privies, assigns including but not limited to their directors and officers, or any other persons or group of persons deriving authority through them from paying the purported fines of N185million imposed on the 3rd & 4th defendants/ respondents each and N277.5million on the poor quality service, pending the final determination of the substantive suit.

This is a big test for the country’s telecommunications industry piqued by several challenges on both the parts of the customers and the operators.