The Court of Appeal has ordered MTN Nigeria Communications Limited to pay N15 million in damages for bombarding a customer with unsolicited messages and caller tunes without consent.
Justice Okon Abang of the Abuja division of the appellate court ruled that the actions violated the customer’s right to privacy and caused significant distress.
The case, brought by public interest lawyer Ezugwu Anene on Friday, highlighted that the appellant, claimed that he received 88 unsolicited calls from MTN Nigeria at odd hours, causing him embarrassment, distraction, and anxiety, thus violating his right to privacy.
He sought N200 million in damages for the imposition of caller tunes and weekly unsolicited messages. Anene argued that despite subscribing to MTN’s network services, he never consented to the additional services, which led to unauthorized deductions from his airtime.
He also contended that his refusal to answer calls from unfamiliar numbers hindered his ability to receive crucial business communications, as these unsolicited calls were both frequent and embarrassing.
In response, MTN, represented by Emmanuel Iteade, asserted that the prepaid terms and conditions are clearly outlined in the SIM starter kit provided to new subscribers. Iteade maintained that MTN did not infringe on Anene’s right to privacy or unlawfully deduct from his airtime, claiming all charges were for services he had subscribed to.
“All services complained about by the claimant were subscribed to by him, and the defendant merely debited him for the services,” the respondent said.
The lower court ruled that Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution protects citizens’ privacy, including their homes and communications. During cross-examination, an MTN witness admitted that the font size in the company’s terms and conditions was too small to read.
The High Court found that the unsolicited text messages and caller tunes sent to Barrister Ezugwu Anene’s phone, without his consent, breached his right to privacy and disrupted his use of airtime. Consequently, the court permanently prohibited MTN from sending unsolicited messages or imposing charges on Anene’s account.
Initially awarded N300,000 in damages, Anene appealed for a higher amount, while MTN cross-appealed, claiming the deductions were minimal.
Justice Okon Abang later deemed MTN’s actions a violation of privacy, stating that the company likely profited unlawfully from these practices.
He said, “If MTN had sent unsolicited messages to 10 million phones at the time, owned by innocent Nigerians, it would have unlawfully enriched itself” to over a trillion naira.
While delivering the unanimous judgment of a three-member panel at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, overturned the N300,000 damages awarded by the High Court and imposed a fine of N15 million against MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.
