Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has defended its decision to slam a hefty fine on MTN Nigeria, claiming it took the decision in the best interest of the country. Addressing newsmen, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, said the action was necessary in order to protect citizens against security challenges.
“The action was taken in the interest of the public which has been suffering security challenges,” he said.
Specifically, he said MTN violated Section 20 (1) of the commission’s Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulation of 2011. According to the law, any licensee who activates or fails to deactivate a subscription medium in violation of any provision of these Regulations is liable to a penalty of NGN200,000 for each unregistered but activated subscription medium.”
“The fine of NGN1.04 trillion on MTN Nigeria by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was done in the interest of the public which has been at the receiving end of security challenges,” Ojobo said.
According to Ojobo, the commission has “overwhelming evidence of non-compliance and obvious disregard to the rule of engagement by MTN.”
He further said MTN in a letter dated November 2, 2015 admitted the infraction and pleaded for leniency.
Ojobo said, “The Commission has acknowledged this and is looking into their plea without any prejudice to the fine. The fine remains but the appeal and other engagements with MTN may affect the payment deadline.”
MTN a regular offender
The NCC spokesperson said the hefty fine was the second fine the commission would be slamming on the operator within a period of two months following an initial fine that cut all the networks.
“All the operators were given a seven-day ultimatum to deactivate all unregistered and improperly registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards. While other operators complied with the directive, to deactivate the improperly registered SIM Cards, MTN showed no sign of compliance at all,” Ojobo said.
NCC, he said, acted in line with its statutory responsibility to monitor and enforce compliance to the rules especially when national security is at stake.
“As a responsible Regulator, the NCC will not stand by and watch Rules and Regulations for Engagement being flouted by any operator,” Ojobo said.
