South African telecommunications firm, MTN has withdrawn its lawsuit against Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over a $3.9 billion fine and paid $250 million towards a possible settlement.
This is even as the Nigerian government denied the knowledge of the payment of such amount of money, which sought to over-ride the N1.04 trillion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications commission (NCC).
MTN, which makes 37 percent of its sales in Nigeria, said it would withdraw its court challenge in an effort to reach an amicable settlement and make a “good faith payment” of $250 million towards a possible settlement.
“This is a sign that the fine could be reduced much further. There is some sort of negotiation taking place and the parties are migrating towards a common ground,” Reuters quoted Dobek Pater, managing director of Africa Analysis, as saying on the matter.
The original penalty was based on fining the company $1,000 for every unregistered SIM card in use.
The Special Assistant to the Minister of Communications, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, said that the payment has not been made official, saying: “I can confirm to you that the situation is still being studied. To the best of my knowledge, the amount announced is not the fine they are expected to pay. Federal Government is still studying it.
‘‘They decided to go to court and never wanted an amicable settlement. If they now want settlement, there has to be an official statement on that soon,’’
MTN Group had gone to court to challenge the legality of NCC to impose such a huge fine on it but failed to argue its case to logical conclusion.
Not satisfied, the telecom company also went further to hire a former U.S. attorney general to help challenge the propriety of the fine. The former U.S. law enforcement officer, Eric Holder is said to have pleaded with Nigerian officials last month on behalf of the telecoms company without any fruitful outcome.
After hearing the case, the presiding judge in January gave the two parties a two month period to settle out of court. A judge in Lagos also had last month gave both parties until March 18 to reach a settlement, after MTN had asked the court to arbitrate over the dispute, saying the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had no legal grounds to order the fine. [myad]
