The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja for an order compelling the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to revoke the licence of MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd.
In the suit brought by the Osun and Ekiti chapters of the party and the former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the party claimed that the NCC failed to protect them from the unfair practices of MTN.
It also alleged that when asked to provide the National Judicial Council (NJC) with the call logs containing the alleged conversations between the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, to substantiate allegations that he was influenced by some chieftains of the Action Congress of Nigeria to arrive at the decision that removed Oyinlola from office, MTN provided the council with an incomplete data.
In the statement of claim filed by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Adebisi Raimi, the party claimed: “MTN deliberately frustrated the work of the panel by providing inadequate and incomplete call data records and thus manipulated same.
“The action of MTN to deliberately frustrate the work of the NJC panel by providing inadequate and incomplete call data records constituted gross professional and ethical misconduct.”
According to the party, MTN forwarded to NJC call data records containing only the originating component and deliberately withheld the terminating components, which left the NJC with no option but to declare the call logs as lacking in evidentiary value.
“MTN deliberately omitted the months of September, October and November 2010 from the call data records forwarded to the NJC panel, to effectively obliterate records of the period of communication between and among the following individuals: Hon. Justice Isa Ayo Salami (08034004887), Tunji Ijaiya (08034010700), Tunde Folawiyo (08034240000), Gbadegesin Ademola (08062240104), Mohammed Rufu Lai, (08034301111), Lagos State Government (08034020700; 08033235280; 08034301122), Kayode Fayemi (0805555655); thereby blanking out the period immediately preceding the judgments of the Governorship Election Appeals in respect of Osun and Ekiti State,” it stated.
The PDP further claimed that MTN deliberately omitted the months of September, October and November 2010 from the call data record to mislead the NJC panel and to pervert the course of justice.
It said that the MTN action contravened the NCC Act and has asked the court to order MTN to pay the sum of N150 billion as general damages.
In his evidence on oath, which was attached to the statement of claim, former Governor Oyinlola said if MTN had forwarded the authentic, adequate, complete and undistorted and bona fide call data records in respect of communication between and among the individuals mentioned to the NJC panel, the report of the NJC Investigative Panel and the recommendations of the committee set up to review the report would have been different.
He said: “That if the recommendations of the panel and the committee had been different, necessary legal action and steps would have been taken to ensure that their candidates in the 2007 gubernatorial elections, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State and Chief Segun Oni of Ekiti state were reinstated.
“That because their candidates (PDP’s Oyinlola and Oni) were not reinstated, they had suffered and are still suffering unimaginable integrity, prestige and image, financial and political loses.” The former governor also said he is willing to testify in the course of the trial. Also to give evidence is Adeolu Oyinlola, the Assistant Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Osun State.
Both the Osun and the Ekiti chapters of the PDP wrote separate petitions to the NJC alleging foul play in the judgment of the Court of Appeal that removed Oyinlola and Oni from office.
SUN NIGERIA
