END OF STORY: Nigerian Court strikes out MTN N3bn suit against FG

 

END OF STORY:  Nigerian Court strikes out MTN N3bn suit against FG

 

The N3bn Fundamental Right suit instituted by the South African owned multi-national telecommunications firm, MTN has been struck out by a Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Thursday.

Multi-Telecommunication Network instituted the suit against Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

Malami served the MTN a letter in 2018 demanding MTN to pay N2bn tax liability. Counsel to the MTN, Wole  Olanipekun (SAN) had argued that in writing the demand letter to MTN, Mr Malami acted beyond his powers and violated the provisions of Section 36 of the constitution on fair hearing with “the purported revenue assets investigation” he carried out on the firm’s activities covering 2007 to 2017.

The court had, in a May 8 ruling, dismissed the AGF’s preliminary objection to the suit.

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke struck out the suit Thursday after the court was informed about the decision of the AGF to withdraw a letter to the company demanding N2 billion alleged unremitted tax.

Habibat Ajana, counsel to the AGF, had drawn the judge’s attention to a January 8, 2020, letter by the AGF to MTN, in which the former said he had reviewed the issue and had decided to withdraw the demand letter.

Responding, Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria and counsel to MTN Nigeria, said with the withdrawal letter from the AGF, his client would drop its suit.

Consequently, the judge struck out the suit.

In the suit, MTN Nigeria had prayed the court to award N3bn against the AGF for rights infringement.