08/10/2025
CONSUMER CHALLENGE MTN IN COURT OVER ILLEGAL DEDUCTION OF HIS AIRTIME AS CALLER TUNES HE DID NOT SUSCRIBE TO.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria Delivered another Landmark Decision in the case of :
ANENE v. MTN (Nig) .COMM.PLC (2025) 16 NWLR ( pt 2010 ) 1
Facts of the Case :
The appellant, a customer of the respondent, had his airtime frequently deducted over a period of time for indeterminable reasons.
On 18th May 2014, while he was making contributions to a live radio program, his airtime was cut off by the respondent. He found that there was no airtime in his phone line and could not purchase airtime on that day to re-connect as it was a Sunday.
Thereafter,he realised that it was the respondent that was responsible for this and that the respondent had subjected him to deductions from his airtime for caller tunes service which he allegedly never subscribed to.
The appellant wrote to the respondent complaining of the deductions. After some correspondences, the respondent wrote to him stating that it had de-activated the caller tunes and then refunded him N700 airtime with an undertaking not to unlawfullyand illegally deduct his airtime again.
However, after a while, the respondent resumed the deductions for caller tunes service when he did not subscribe to it in spite of the respondent’s claim of having deactivated the unsubscribed caller tunes.
Consequently, the appellant instituted a suit against the respondent at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory,Abuja a declaration that the uncountable deductions breached his quiet enjoyment of the airtime he paid for; an order restraining the respondent from further deductions from his airtime as service charge for caller tunes; an order directing the respondent to refund all deductions made from his “plaintiff’s airtime”; the sum of N50,000,000.00 as damages; and the sum of N1,000,000.00 as the cost of litigation.
At the conclusion of trial, the trial court found in favour ofthe appellant and awarded him the sum of N5,000,000.00 as General damages for the disruption of the quiet enjoyment of his airtime and the consequent hardship and discomfort which he was subjected through the respondent’s unholy deductions.
The court also awarded him cost in the sum of N500, 000.00. Dissatisfied with the judgment of the trial court, the respondent appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal held that the trial court was right in its decision.
However, it held that the quantum of general damages was excessive and that the whole surrounding circumstances did not justify the quantum of damages awarded by the trial Court
the trial court.
Consequently, it reviewed downwards the award of general damages to N400,000.00. It also held the cost of litigation was not particularized and assessed it to be N100,000.00.
Aggrieved, the appellant appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court allowing the Appeal, set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and upheld the Decision of the trial Court by awarding N5,000,000.00 Naira as Damages and 500,000 as cost of litigation with an additional N3,000,000.00 as Cost of Appeal and order MTN to pay a total sum of 8.5M for Consumer right Violation.
This is indeed a strong precedent for consumer rights protection under our Law!!!!
