MTN Nigeria

United Kingdom based Nigerian PhD Law student, Barrister Bennth Igbani whose MTN line was hacked into by unknown persons has slammed N200 million suit on MTN Nigeria Communication Limited.

In an amended statement of claim filed before a Federal high court in Lagos south west Nigeria by a Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, on behalf of the aggrieved customer of the communication company, Igbani alleged that he has been using his sim card number 08067251116 for over eight years. During the compulsory card registration, in Nigeria he duly complied and duly registered his sim card with MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS LTD and has been using same exclusively without any interference from anybody until 4th October, 2014.

As a PhD Law student in the United Kingdom, he roamed his line when he travelled out, but three days later the line became inoperative. Few days later, he observed that his email was being accessed from Nigeria (his e-mail account had been hacked into by a third party) using his MTN Number.

Barrister Igbani alleged further that his account officer with Sterling Bank Plc called and informed him that one Mrs Nora who claimed to be his younger sister called her with his MTN number and requested that the sum of N5 million from his account be released to them for an emerngecy treatment overseas, alleging that he ( the account owner) was seriously ill and on admission in a hospital. In fact, he was not sick, neither does he have a sister called Nora. He stated that he was apprehensive as his MTN line was tied to all his six bank accounts, his e-mail account and social media accounts were also registered with this sim card.

The plaintiff averred further that after the attempted fraud on his account, he petitioned the Nigerian Police. Within the material time his number was reclaimed by a third party through MTN. The third party had access to his PhD thesis, deleted vital documents, thereby causing him serious set back in his academic pursuit.

Upon his return to Lagos, he went to the MTN office in Lagos and complained wherein it was confirmed that his MTN sim card number was reclaimed by one Mr Ndubisi Daniel on the 7th of October, 2014. Thereafter, he requested for the particulars of the said person who reclaimed his MTN and card number but the communication company refused to disclose his name.

Thereafter he mandated his lawyer Mr Festus Keyamo to write a letter to MTN, contending that the action of the company was fraudulent.

The plaintiff avers that he suffered enormous damages ranging from being kept incommunicado for over five months, loss of business, psychological stress, financial loss, extraction of vital information and infringement on his privacy.

Consequently, Barrister Igbani’s claims against MTN are as follows, the sum of N200 million as damages for the wrong he suffered when his sim card was reclaimed by an unknown person,

An order of the court mandating MTN to re -install his number to him and restrain the company from further tampering with his sim number.

The case has been adjourned to 23rd of September, 2016 for hearing.

The author of this story Akin Kuponiyi can be reached at