Telecom Firms, NCC Sued to Court by Activist, Claims N10bn Damages Over Blocked Lines

On Monday, Olukoya Ogungbeje, a person fighting for rights, took legal action at a Federal High Court in Lagos against telecommunication companies in Nigeria. He’s upset because they recently blocked the phone lines of people in the country. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), its CEO Aminu Mada, and several telecom companies like MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, and 9 Mobile (EMTS) are all being challenged in this lawsuit.

Ogungbeje explained in his legal documents that in January, these companies had warned they would block or turn off the mobile phone lines of people whose numbers weren’t linked with their National Identification Number (NIN). After this warning, he went to court and on February 22, he got a court order stopping these companies from blocking or turning off the phone lines until the lawsuit was decided.

He was surprised to find out that on February 28, his phone lines and those of many other people were still blocked by these companies, ignoring the court’s order. Ogungbeje is asking the court to say that blocking and turning off the phone lines from February 28 until now, despite the court’s order, was wrong and illegal.

He wants the court to say that these telecom companies, since they were created by law, must follow the court’s decisions. Ogungbeje is asking for the court to cancel all actions taken to restrict phone lines and to order the companies to unblock and free up the affected phone lines. He is also asking for 10 billion Naira in damages from the telecom companies for illegally restricting phone lines.

Furthermore, Ogungbeje wants the court to permanently stop these companies from taking any more actions against the citizens involved based on this issue. No date has been set yet for when this case will be heard in court.

Read Also: SIMs-NIN linkage: Blocked lines rise to 40 million in Nigeria