The Court of Appeal has awarded MTN Nigeria Communications Limited a hefty fine of N15 million for bombarding a customer’s phone number with unsolicited messages and caller tunes.
This decision was made after the customer, a public interest lawyer named Ezugwu Anene, filed an appeal against the company for violating his right to privacy.
According to Anene, MTN sent him 88 unsolicited calls at odd hours, causing him embarrassment, inconvenience, distraction, and anxiety.
“MTN inundated him with a large volume of messages and deducted money from his airtime for unsolicited services from July 2016 to March 21, 2018, at inappropriate hours,” he said.
He also claimed that the company deducted money from his airtime for unsolicited services without his consent. Anene initially asked the court to award N200 million in general damages, but the lower court awarded only N300,000.
However, the Appeal Court, led by Justice Okon Abang, set aside the lower court’s decision and awarded N15 million in damages against MTN.
The court held that MTN’s actions were a clear violation of the customer’s right to privacy and quiet enjoyment of his airtime. The court also noted that MTN’s witness admitted that the terms and conditions of the company’s services were written in tiny fonts that were difficult to read.
Justice Abang emphasized that telecommunications providers must respect customers’ choices and refrain from imposing unwanted services.
He also suggested that exemplary damages should have been awarded against MTN as a deterrent, considering the company’s substantial profits from such practices.
“If MTN had sent unsolicited messages to 10 million phones at the time, owned by innocent Nigerians, it would have unlawfully enriched itself,” he said.
In its defense, MTN represented by its staff member, Emmanuel Iteade, claimed that the customer had subscribed to the services and that the company did not breach his right to privacy.
He added by informing the court that when a prospective subscriber purchases a SIM starter kit, the prepaid terms and conditions are clearly placed in the kit to allow careful review.
“All services complained about by the claimant were subscribed to by him, and the defendant merely debited him for the services,” he said.
However, the Appeal Court dismissed this argument, stating that the customer had not subscribed to the unsolicited services and that MTN’s actions were a clear violation of his rights.
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Jerome Kalu
Jerome Kalu is currently the Senior Correspondent of PIJAlance in Lagos. He was previously the Campus Information Desk (CID) Editor.