The Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria has imposed a N15 million fine on telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria for the unlawful deduction of airtime from a customer, Ezugwu Anene, for services he claimed he never subscribed to.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Friday, Justice Okon Abang, who wrote the lead judgment, described the deductions as fraudulent. The court also condemned MTN for sending unsolicited text messages to subscribers, ruling that it violated their right to privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Regulation 28 of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
The court noted the widespread nature of the practice, stating that if unsolicited messages were sent to 10 million subscribers, MTN could potentially enrich itself by over a trillion naira.
Anene had earlier activated the “Do Not Disturb” (DND) option to prevent unsolicited messages but claimed MTN persisted in sending them. He also complained about unauthorized deductions for services like “weekly guidance and counselling” and “caller tune services” between 2016 and 2018.
The appellate court overturned a previous judgment by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, which had awarded N300,000 in damages. Instead, the Appeal Court increased the damages to N15 million, highlighting the anxiety caused to Anene and the broader implications of MTN’s actions on unsuspecting Nigerians.
MTN’s cross-appeal challenging the initial N300,000 award was dismissed. The company argued that its deductions from Anene’s airtime totaled only N14,000 and claimed the damages awarded were excessive.
The court issued a perpetual restraining order against MTN, barring the company from sending unsolicited text messages or imposing unauthorized deductions on Anene’s airtime.
