The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), challenging the recent 50% hike in telecom tariffs.
The legal action, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, aims to address what SERAP describes as “arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unfair, and unreasonable” tariff increases.
The NCC’s decision, which has already been implemented, saw the cost of calls rise from N11 to N16.5 per minute, 1GB of data increase from N287.5 to N431.25, and SMS charges climb from N4 to N6.
In the suit, SERAP argues that the decision to raise telecom tariffs was made without sufficient legal grounds and is a violation of citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of expression and access to information.
The organization is asking the court to declare the tariff hike unconstitutional and to prevent the NCC from further enforcing the increase.
SERAP’s legal counsel, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, emphasizes that the tariff hike violates legal principles of fairness and reasonableness, as well as international standards on freedom of expression.
According to the suit, the NCC overstepped its authority by authorizing the price hikes without adequate consideration of their impact on the public.
The organization is requesting an injunction to halt the implementation of the decision, pending a court ruling on the matter.
This legal challenge raises important questions about the balance between regulatory authority and citizens’ rights, and whether the NCC’s actions were aligned with the principles of justice and fairness.
“The NCC is required under the legal provisions on consumers’ rights and constitutional and international standards on freedom of expression and access to information to base its decision on reasonable interpretations of its enabling statutes and guidelines and other relevant legal frameworks, and to follow due process.”
