Sequel to court challenge between Telecom Giant MTN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) , the MTN Group has hired a former top United States law enforcement official Eric Holder to help challenge the N1.04tn fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Citing people familiar with the situation, the newspaper said former US Attorney General, Eric Holder, pleaded with Nigerian officials last month on behalf of the telecoms company.
Africa’s largest mobile phone company was handed a N1.04tn ($5.2bn) penalty in October last year, prompting weeks of lobbying that led to a 25 per cent reduction to N674bn ($3.9bn).
MTN, however, was still not prepared to pay the fine and launched a court challenge in December, saying the regulator had no legal grounds to order the penalty.
A judge in Lagos last month gave MTN until March 18 to try to reach a settlement over the fine, which equates to more than twice the company’s annual average capital spending over the past five years.
MTN Group spokesman, Chris Maroleng, was not immediately available to comment.
Eric Holder
Holder, who led the US Justice Department from 2009 to 2015 and was one of President Barack Obama’s longest-serving cabinet members, returned to the law firm, Covington & Burling, where he was previously a partner from 2001 to 2009.
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