Nigeria telecommunication giant, MTN Nigeria, on Wednesday, withdrew its legal suit against the Nigerian Communications Commission, NC...
Nigeria telecommunication giant, MTN Nigeria, on Wednesday, withdrew its legal
suit against the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and paid the
sum of N50 billion as an out-of-court settlement.
The telecom giant withdrew the case at the Federal High Court in Lagos in response to a request by the NCC.
Speaking on the withdrawal, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman,
said, “This is a most
encouraging development. It demonstrates a
willingness and sincerity by both parties to work together towards a
positive outcome.”
He further added that MTN paid N50bn to the federal government “as a
gesture of good faith and commitment to continued efforts towards an
amicable resolution.”
NCC had last year fined the telecom giant the sum of N1.04 trillion
for failing to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards and later
reduced the amount to N780 billion after the first round of
negotiations.
MTN, however, requested an out-of-court settlement late last year.
Weeks ago, the company brought in former United States Attorney General, Eric Holder, to assist in their negotiation process.
With these new moves, there is hope that the NCC may lower MTN Nigeria's fine further.
