Society
MTN Eats The Humble Pie, Pleads For Out Of Court Settlement In Case Over N1.4trilllion Fine Imposed By NCC
Telecommunication company, MTN is pleading for a out of court settlement in the case instituted over mega fine imposed by industry regulator Nigeria Communication Commission for trading in illegal lines.
According to information available to societynowng.com
MTN seem to have taken a huge chuck and eaten the humble pie as it has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to grant it leave to pursue an out of court settlement with the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) over the $3.9billion fine imposed on it for infractions must be up to some pranks as it seeks to jaw jaw with the Nigerian regulator, the NCC, while at the same time pursuing a
legal remedy in court over the $3.9 billion fine imposed on it for not registering 5.2 million phone lines.
A Federal high court sitting in Lagos south west Nigeria heard MTN’s contradictory position today, before adjourning till 18 March 2016 for hearing a suit filed by MTN Nigeria Communications Limited against the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) over the N1.04trillion fine, imposed on the telecommunication company.
Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), MTN told the court on the resumption of hearing of the matter yesterday that the parties were already discussing on how to resolve the matter out of court.Consequently he asked for a sixty day period from the court to allow the parties hold further discussions.
However NCC’s lawyer, Yusuf Alli(SAN), disclosed that the court’s discretion is limited to the rules of court which allows for just twenty-one days to file and serve written addresses. Counsel to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN), in his response to Olanipekun’s sixty-day request, expressed his reservations.He said that the telecommunication company has not been consistent in its call for an out of court settlement of the matter.
“This is a matter of national importance. There have been concessions in the past and nothing happened”, he said. He urged the court to make a consequential order that all the processes filed are deemed as properly filed and served.
Following the various submissions of lawyers,Justice Idris held that all the preliminary objections and substantive applications shall be taken together while all the processes filed shall be deemed as properly filed and served.
He then adjourned the matter till March 18, for report of settlement or for hearing.
MTN dragged the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) to court to challenge the sanction imposed on it urging the court to quash the fine.Joined as co-respondent in the suit is the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice The telecommunication company, is challenging the powers of NCC to impose such a fine on it.
The telecoms company contended that NCC being a regulator, cannot assume all the functions of the state on its own. It was further argued that the NCC cannot make the regulation, prescribe the penalty and impose the fine.
MTN also alleged that it was not afforded its constitutional right of fair hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction and more importantly, it had not been found guilty of any offence that will warrant it to pay such outrageous fine.It contended that the sanction imposed on it by NCC was within twenty-Four hours of its written submission on the disconnection exercise and the impractical nature of the NCC deadline.
It stated that the deadline of seven days to disconnect 5.2 million subscribers was grossly inadequate and impracticable.
