MTN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are both awaiting a decision by Nigeria's courts over a $3.9 billion (R60 billion) fine levelled against the telco in the West African nation.
MTN had until 31 December 2015 to pay the fine, but NCC director of public affairs, Tony Ojobo, says because of the decision of both parties to go to court on the matter, the commission has agreed to wait until the court delivers a ruling on the case before taking any action.
In mid-December, MTN announced it would take its fight to the Nigerian courts, and had instructed its lawyers to proceed with an action in the Federal High Court in Lagos. At the time, MTN said after receiving legal advice, it had resolved that "the manner of the imposition of the fine and the quantum thereof is not in accordance with the NCC's powers under the Nigerian Communications Act", giving the telco the right to challenge the fine in court.
The network wants the court to determine whether the NCC has sufficient legal backing to impose a fine on the telecoms company without contravening the Nigerian Constitution. According to MTN, the NCC contravened its fundamental right to a fair hearing, and by imposing the fine, MTN said 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 NCC subsequently launched its own countersuit in the High Court in Nigeria's capital city of Abuja, in an attempt to force the mobile network to pay the fine. It is still unclear when the cases will be heard.
"There are two court cases on the matter, the one filed by MTN and the NCC countersuit. So, while the deadline has elapsed on 31 December 2015, we should also be aware of the fact that we need to wait for the court ruling," according to Ojobo.
Attempts to settle the matter through negotiation seem to have failed in the saga that has been ongoing since the original $5.2 billion fine was announced back in October 2015. MTN was penalised for failing to disconnect over five million unregistered SIM cards on its Nigerian network.
On 2 December, the NCC sent MTN a letter informing it that the authority had reduced the fine to $3.4 billion, but the following day it backtracked, sending another letter that raised the fine back up to $3.9 billion.
Other factors influencing MTN to challenge the fine included a review of the circumstances leading to the fine, and "the subsequent letters received from the Nigerian Communications Commission" in terms of the fine amount.
MTN Nigeria's head of public relations and protocol, Funso Aina, has also confirmed the network will wait until the court delivers judgment on the matter before acting. "As you know, when a case is in court, there is a limit to the comments that can be made," says Aina.
Based on the pending legal action: "All parties are enjoined to restrain from taking further action until the matter is finally determined. This is consistent with previous judicial decisions in Nigeria."
Aina adds: "Notwithstanding the lawsuit, we will continue to engage with the Nigerian authorities to try and ensure an amicable resolution in the best interests of the company, its stakeholders and the Nigerian authorities."
MTN has 62.5 million subscribers in Nigeria and is the country's largest mobile phone operator. The West African nation is also MTN's biggest market.
* ITWeb Africa correspondent from Nigeria, Paul Adepoju, contributed to this story.
Share