For MTN, one of Nigeria’s leading telecommunications companies, it’s now beginning to look like ‘one week, one trouble’.
The foremost telecoms company, YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine reliably gathered, just landed in yet another hot soup – and this time, the Federal Government of Nigeria is accusing them of permitting the Daniel Kanu-led Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) the use of their masts to hoist their transmitters in Anambra and Enugu States!
This fresh allegation was contained in a 6-count charge filed against Kanu, David Nwawuisi, MTN’s field maintenance manager in Enugu and Benjamin Madubugwu, from Ubuluisiuzo, in Ihiala, Anambra, who reportedly took custody of a container housing the transmitters.
Mr. Mohammed Diri, the Federal Director of Public Prosecutions, signed the charges which no doubt will ruffle and rumple more feathers at MTN. And according to him, the offences are punishable under section 6 of the Criminal Code Act, CAP 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, and were allegedly committed between April and May 2015.
No date has been fixed for hearing.
Interestingly, prior to this latest palaver, MTN had been bedeviled by other major challenges. Just weeks back, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, slammed them with an ear-deafening 1.4 trillion fine. This was because they allegedly allowed hundreds of unregistered SIM cards to continue to operate and function on their network after the deadline given by the regulatory agency of the government.
Amidst the hullabaloo that followed, MTN’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Sifiso Dabengwa, resigned. Then, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki and their Head of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Akinwale Goodluck. And now this new allegation that IPOB, a seccessionist group in the Eastern part of the country, had been discretely making use of their mast to transmit and run their radio station, contrary to the belief that they’ve been doing so from London.
Kanu, the IPOB front man, it would be recalled, had been in detention for months now. And during his last appearance in court, he got the trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, to step down, after insisting that he doesn’t have confidence in him. His fresh 6-count bordering on felony, management of an unlawful society (IPOB), smuggling of goods, including transmitters, into the country, etc was yet to get a hearing date and trial judge as at the time of writing this.