The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered MTN Nigeria Communications Limited to pay ₦15 million in damages for violating a customer’s privacy through unsolicited messages and caller tunes.
This ruling came after public interest lawyer Ezugwu Anene appealed, arguing that MTN’s actions infringed on his right to privacy and disrupted his use of airtime.
Justice Okon Abang, delivering the judgment, described MTN’s unsolicited services as a breach of Anene’s rights, stressing that telecommunications providers must respect customers’ preferences and avoid imposing unwanted services.
The court found that the sending of unsolicited text messages violated subscribers’ rights under Section 37 of the Nigerian Constitution and Regulation 28 of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
Anene had activated the “Do Not Disturb” (DND) feature but continued to receive unsolicited messages and caller tunes from MTN between July 2016 and March 2018.
He alleged that these disruptions caused embarrassment, anxiety, and loss of important business opportunities. MTN defended its actions, claiming that Anene had subscribed to the services either directly or impliedly.
However, MTN’s witness admitted under cross-examination that the terms and conditions in the starter kit were printed in fonts too small to read, which the court found significant.
The Appeal Court dismissed MTN’s cross-appeal, which sought to overturn the High Court’s earlier decision, and increased the damages from ₦300,000 to ₦15 million.
The court emphasized that MTN’s actions likely affected millions of Nigerians and unjustly enriched the company.
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