The Supreme Court has affirmed a 2016 judgment delivered by Justice Ishaq Bello, then Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, which declared as illegal the deductions made by MTN for unsolicited caller tunes.
The case, which had gone through the Court of Appeal before reaching the apex court, centered on unauthorized charges imposed on MTN subscriber.
While the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s ruling, it reduced the general damages awarded to the plaintiff from N5 million to N400,000, and the cost of action from N500,000 to N100,000.
However, the Supreme Court has reversed the Court of Appeal of MTN and restored the amounts awarded by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
In a Lead Judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Baba Idris, the apex court found the reduction of the general damages and cost of action by the Court of Appeal as arbitrary and not backed up by any principle of law.
In one of the concurring judgements, Justice Helen Morenikeji Ogunwumiju stated: “It is obvious that while the learned trial Judge appreciated the rights of consumers to be protected and properly recompensed for damage done to them by service providers, the Court of Appeal did not.”
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