Federal High Court Stops Telecoms’ Deactivation of Unlinked NIN Lines

The Federal High Court in Lagos has issued a restraining order preventing telecom operators in Nigeria from deactivating or barring any lines or SIM cards not linked to the National Identification Number (NIN). The ruling, delivered on February 22, 2024, followed an application for restraining orders filed by rights activist Olukoya Ogungbeje.

Ogungbeje’s suit named the federal government, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, and Airtel Networks Nigeria Limited as respondents. Seeking an injunction pending appeal, Ogungbeje urged the court to prevent any enforcement of the judgment delivered on May 8, 2023, by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa.

The court, through Justice Lewis-Allagoa, granted the restraining order, preventing the telecom operators from taking any action related to barring, deactivating, or restricting SIM cards or phone lines of any Nigerian citizen. This prohibition extends until the hearing and determination of Ogungbeje’s appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Ogungbeje’s grounds for the application included challenging the respondents’ actions in undermining the judicial powers of the court and the Nigerian legal system, asserting that the court’s judgment on May 8, 2023, dismissed his initial suit. Dissatisfied with the judgment, Ogungbeje exercised his constitutional right to appeal, lodging a notice of appeal on July 26, 2023, against the entire decision contained in the previous court’s judgment. The outcome of this legal battle will be closely monitored in the context of ongoing debates surrounding the linkage of NIN to telecom services.