Nigeria regulator, MTN seek 'amicable' settlement over $3.9 bln fine, official says

27 January 2016 - 18:07 By Alexis Akwagyiram
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Motorists drive under a MTN billboard on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. File photo.
Motorists drive under a MTN billboard on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. File photo.
Image: AFP

Nigeria and MTN are seeking an "amicable" out-of-court settlement over a $3.9 billion fine imposed on the cell phone operator, a top regulatory official said on Wednesday.

The comments raise the chance of an end to a standoff between Africa's largest cell operator and the continent's biggest economy which has been dragging on for three months.

Nigeria has been trying to halt the widespread use of unregistered SIM cards for fear that these are being used for criminal activity, including by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) imposed a $5.2 billion fine on MTN in October for failing to disconnect users with unregistered SIM cards but after weeks of negotiations reduced it by 25 percent.

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MTN, which makes about 37 percent of its revenue from Nigeria, then filed a suit there but the NCC was told late on Tuesday that the South African firm wanted an out-of-court deal, its executive vice chairman Umar Garba Danbatta said.

"Our lawyers communicated to us that indeed MTN is resorting to a settlement out of court," Danbatta told reporters. "They (MTN) are trying to get this settled amicably.

"We have been since then informed by our own counsel that the honourable judge has granted the request for a settlement on the matter," he said.

He gave no details but said NCC was willing to settle the matter amicably.

"The intention is not to kill MTN. We would like the industry to continue. We would like it to be vibrant and I think this is a matter that needs to be resolved amicably and we are working towards that," he told Reuters.

Nigeria's telecoms minister Adebayo Shittu said on Tuesday that the final word on the fine rested with President Muhammadu Buhari.

A judge in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, last week gave the company until March 18 to try to reach a settlement with the Nigerian authorities.

The fine equates to more than twice MTN's annual average capital spending over the past five years.

- Reuters

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