By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State has directed telecoms giant, MTN Nigeria, to pay the sum of N530,000 to one of its customers, Mr Oluwole Aluko, for unauthorised deduction from his lines.
Giving his ruling on Wednesday, the judge held that it was wrong for MTN Nigeria to force the customer to pay for what he did not request for.
Mr Aluko had instituted a suit of N10 million damages against the telecoms firm in 2016, alleging that MTN Nigeria unlawfully made series of deductions from three of his MTN lines for caller tunes he did not subscribe to.
At the ruling yesterday, Justice Ayo-Emmanuel said, “The plaintiff has the right to allow or reject the use of a caller tune.
“MTN cannot force the use of any caller tune on him or anybody because it is unlawful.
“Though the plaintiff sought N10 million as damages, but I hold that any damage suffered must be commensurate with the claim.
“I, hereby, award a cost of N500,000 for the damages suffered and another N30,000 as cost incurred during the court process.”
But counsel to MTN Nigeria, Fatiullah Tiamiyu, disclosed that her client was not served any court process, saying this was why the company had not been represented in any previous sitting.
