Nigeria’s House of Representatives is questioning the legal basis for the review of the 1.04 trillion Naira fine imposed on a South African telecommunication company, MTN, for failing to deactivate unregistered SIM cards.
After considering a motion on the matter on Wednesday, the House resolved to investigate the extent to which the company violated the provisions of the law and if the company should escape criminal liability for the alleged death of over 10,000 Nigerians.
The lawmakers also frowned at the tone of a letter written to the House Committee on Communication, declining an invitation to appear before the Committee and referring it to other government agencies.
They queried the role of the Attorney General of the Federation for taking over the negotiations with MTN without including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The motion, however, called for an investigation into the matter. The Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, then put the prayers to a vote.
The 1.04 trillion Naira fine was imposed on MTN for violating some aspects of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s regulation.
The fine has been reduced to 780 billion Naira.
