The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday struck out the criminal charge filed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) against MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and its top officials.
Justice Hauwa Yilwa delivered the ruling following an application by FCCPC’s lawyer, I. O. Aiaba, seeking withdrawal of the case.
Earlier, during the resumed hearing, Aiaba informed the court that a notice of withdrawal had been filed on September 8. He explained that the application was brought under Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. The prosecution adopted the notice and prayed that the court strike out the charge.
No lawyer appeared for the defendants, and the defendants themselves were absent from court. Consequently, Justice Yilwa struck out the suit.
MTN Nigeria; its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Mr. Karl Toriola; and other co-defendants were being prosecuted by FCCPC over alleged breaches of the commission’s Act.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FCCPC had sued MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Toriola as 1st and 2nd defendants, while also naming Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, and Ikenna Ikeme, General Manager, Regulatory Affairs of MTN, as 3rd and 4th defendants, respectively.
In the two-count charge, the defendants were accused of failing to produce documents and information required by the commission in compliance with a lawful summons, contrary to the FCCPC Act. The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/354/2024, was dated July 19, 2024, and filed on July 22, 2024, by a team of lawyers led by Akoji Achimugu.
Previously, FCCPC, through its lawyer Nsitem Chizenum, had accused the MTN CEO and co-defendants of evading service of court documents. Chizenum told the court that several efforts to serve the defendants had been unsuccessful, including involvement of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), which was processing an application to produce the defendants in court.
The matter had been fixed for May 28 for the defendants to enter their plea, but none appeared in court.
In count one, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Toriola, Okigbo, and Ikeme were alleged to have, on or about June 18, 2024, failed without sufficient cause to produce documents or information required under a lawful summons dated May 17, 2024. Compliance with the summons had reportedly been extended by a letter dated June 5, 2024.
The commission alleged that their failure constituted an offence under Section 33(3) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, and is punishable under Section 111(1) and (2) of the same Act.(NAN)
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