Visafone Acquisition: Court Strikes Out Etisalat’s Suit Against MTN

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday, February 25, struck out a suit Etisalat filed against MTN.

The United Arab Emirate owned telecommunications firm, challenged MTN’s use of the 800megahertz (MHZ) spectrum following its acquisition of Visafone.

The plaintiff said it considered the action necessary to prevent MTN’s use of the spectrum as it would entrench the defendant’s dominance in the data services market.

Etisalat said the use of the 800MHz spectrum to deploy broadband services ahead of its competitors, particularly those who prior to MTNs purchase of Visafone, held similar spectrum bands as MTN, would be to other telecos disadvantage.

Justice Ibrahim Buba struck out the suit on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it. He held that the court cannot interfere with NCC’s regulatory duties.