The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has restrained telecom operators in Nigeria from deactivating or barring any line or sim that is not linked to the National Identification Number, NIN.
The ruling was handed down by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa based on an application filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje.
The applicant, Mr. Ogungbeje, had sued the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Networks Nigeria Limited, all of whom were listed as respondents before the court.
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He asked the court for an injunction pending appeal, restraining all the respondents from taking any step or action and from further outright barring, deactivating and or restricting any SIM cards or phone lines, of any Nigerian Citizen, on Feb. 28, 2024, or any other scheduled date, pending the hearing and determination of his appeal at the Court of Appeal of Nigeria.
In April 2022, Mr Ogungbeje had filed a suit against MTN when his telephone lines were barred. The court at the time had dismissed his suit for lack of merit. He subsequently filed an appeal which is still pending at the court of appeal.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa also ruled that his order subsists till the hearing and determination of the appeal filed by the lawyer.
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