For allegedly charging a customer for caller tunes he claimed not to have subscribed for, a court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State has ordered MTN Nigeria to pay the sum of N530,000 to the customers.
This was the ruling of Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court in Ibadan.
The customer, one Oluwole Aluko, had instituted a case against MTN Nigeria in 2016, alleging unauthorised deductions from MTN mobile lines. He ran to the court, seeking for N10 million as damages.
But at the ruling, the judge awarded a cost of N500,000 for the damages suffered and another N30,000 as cost incurred during the court process.
Justice Ayo-Emmanuel held that, “The plaintiff has the right to allow or reject the use of a caller tune,” emphasising that, “MTN cannot force the use of any caller tune on him or anybody because it is unlawful.”
The judge said, “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,” Justice Ayo-Emmanuel declared.
However, counsel to MTN Nigeria, Fatiullah Tiamiyu, claimed no court process was served to her client, explaining the reason the firm had not been represented in any previous sitting.
