Fund-raising platform: NCC appeals court order to pay N500m to APC

The counsel to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), yesterday filed an appeal against the judgment. NCC, in a statement, said it filed the appeal through its counsel on eight grounds.

Usoro contended that the learned judge misdirected itself in law and on facts when it awarded N500 million as damages and compensation to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The lawyer averred that the judge erred in law when he dismissed the appellant's Notice of Preliminary Objection of March 2, 2015, which challenged the competence of the suit on the grounds that same was unmeritorious.

He added that the judge was wrong when he held that the suit of  the first respondent disclosed cause of action against the applicant.

Usoro, in the notice of appeal, noted that the court misdirected itself in law and facts when it held that the suit, as constituted, fell under the context of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution as amended and not rooted in contract.

He explained that the court erred in law and occasioned grave miscarriage of justice when it held that the first respondent seemingly complained of discrimination by the appellant.

The notice of appeal also said the learned judge erred in law when he held that the appellant indeed discriminated against the 1st respondent when it granted the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation in 2011, the right to use short codes and did not allow the first respondent same right in 2015.

Another ground was that the judge erred in law when it invalidated the appellants' directive contained in its letter of January 19, 2015. A Federal High Court seating in Lagos had, on Tuesday, ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and five others to pay the All Progressives Congress (APC) N500 million for unlawfully shutting down the party's presidential campaign fund raising platform. The order was given by Justice Ibrahim Buba on Tuesday in response to APC's originating summons on the shutting down of its fund raising platform by the NCC. Buba said the APC's position was protected by the constitution with regard to pushing for its fundamental rights once violated. Apart from NCC, the other judgment debtors are Etisalat, MTN Nigeria Limited, Globacom Limited, Airtel Nigeria Limited and Visafone Communications Limited. Buba also threw out the counter affidavit of the NCC.