Kehinde Fajobi
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday ordered MTN Nigeria Communications Limited to pay ₦15 million in damages to a subscriber over the unlawful deduction of airtime through unsolicited services.
The three-member panel of Justices unanimously declared the deductions fraudulent, stating that the company regularly auto-renewed services not subscribed to by customers.
The court also held that the sending of unsolicited text messages breached subscribers’ privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and violated Regulation 28 of Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
The judgment came in response to an appeal filed by Mr Ezugwu Anene, who accused MTN of sending him over 244 unsolicited text messages between 2016 and 2018 for a Weekly Guidance and Counselling service he never subscribed to.
Anene told the court that ₦20 was unlawfully deducted from his airtime balance each time he received the messages on his mobile number, 08030735301.
He further alleged that MTN imposed Caller Tune Services on him, leading to additional deductions, despite his protests at the company’s Abuja office and his attempt to activate the Do Not Disturb service by using the 2442 code.
The appellate court’s decision underscores the need for telecommunication companies to respect subscribers’ rights and comply with consumer protection regulations.