The Federal High Court Abuja has fixed September 25 for the arraignment of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Karl Toriola, and others over a case bordering on alleged breach of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission(FCCPC) Act.
Justice Hauwa Yilwa fixed the date after FCCPC lawyer, Nsitem Chizenum, accused Toriola and others of evading service of court-associated documents in the matter.
The FCCPC had, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/354/2024, sued MTN Nigeria Communications Plc; Toriola; Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, and Ikenna Ikeme, General Manager, Regulatory Affairs of MTN, alleging their failure to produce documents and information required by the commission in compliance with a lawful summons as enshrined in the FCCPC Act.
FCCPC Case
In the two-count charge filed on July 22, 2024, by a team of lawyers led by Akoji Achimugu, the MTN Nigeria Communications PLC, Toriola, Okigbo, and Ikeme were accused of failing to produce documents and or information which they were required to produce on June 18, 2024, “in compliance with a lawful Summons and Request to Produce, dated May 17, 2024.”
Count two states that “the defendants were alleged to have “on or about June 18, 2024, in furtherance, and continuation of extant refusal to produce documents and supply information required by the commission under statutory notice and demand, did impede and obstruct the FCCPC’s ongoing limited initial inquiry and possible prospective investigation by refusing to produce and supply documents and or information requested.”
The Commission said the development contravenes Section 33 (3) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018.
What transpired in court
At the resumed court session, the FCCPC lawyer Chizenum told the judge that it was obvious that the defendants were not in court.
- No lawyer announced an appearance for the defendants.
- The FCCPC counsel stressed that on the last adjourned date, the court hinted that it was the duty of the prosecution to bring the defendants to court, hence, efforts were made to produce them in court today.
“We have made several efforts and we equally used the bailiff of this court to serve them, but it seems they were evading service, my lord,” he added.
- The lawyer told the court that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had been contacted by the Commission with a view to producing the defendants in court.
“In the circumstance, we ask for an adjournment to enable us bring the defendants for arraignment, my lord,” he said.
- After hearing from the lawyer, Justice Yilwa adjourned until Sept. 25 for arraignment of the defendants.
Backstory
Nairametrics reports that the MTN CEO had faced a related development of non-appearance in court from a separate agency.
- In May 2024, the legal team of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) accused Karl Toriola of evading service in a copyright infringement case.
- NCC’s lawyer, Gladys Isaac Ojo, made the claim before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
- The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024, was filed by the NCC against MTN Nigeria Communications Limited; Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria; Nkeakam Abhulimen; Fun Mobile Limited; and Yahaya Maibe.
NCC had alleged that MTN and others used several soundtracks as callback ringtones without the consent and authorization of the original owners and in contravention of the Copyright Act.
