MTN Pays N.5m to Customer over Illegal Credit Deduction

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The sum of N500,000 has been paid to a customer of telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria, Mr Oluwole Aluko.

The amount was paid in compliance with a Federal High Court judgement in Ibadan, Oyo State, directing the telco to pay for illegal deduction of call credit of the affected customer.

In 2016, Mr Aluko filed a suit against MTN Nigeria, claiming his call credit was illegally deducted from his account by the GSM network provider.

During the hearing, MTN Nigeria made no representation until the day set aside for ruling on the matter.

Two persons, Abiola Olagunju and Fatiullah Tiamiyu, showed up at the court that day, claiming to be representing the company and urged the court to set aside the judgment against their client.

They had argued that the company’s legal department was never aware of the suit against the company before the court, but Mr Aluko countered this claim, presenting evidence of court summons served on the defendants with proof of receipt in a criminal contempt suit he instituted against the duo.

Ruling on the matter in 2017, Justice Nathaniel Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court in Ibadan directed the company to pay the sum of N500,000 to Mr Aluko.

This week, at the resumption of a criminal contempt suit filed against MTN Nigeria’s lawyers, Mr Aluko confirmed receiving the amount in compliance with the court’s earlier order.

As a result of his confirmation, the judge struck out the suit.