Mariam Sanni
A Civil Society Organization, known as the Initiative Against Human Rights Abuse & Torture, INAHURAT, has threatened to stage a protest against South African government and MTN, a South African company, accused of committing crimes in Nigeria.
The lawyer to INAHURAT, Barrister Maxwell Opara, who made this known in a press briefing in Abuja, explained that despite a thorough police investigation and charges being brought against MTN Nigeria Communication PLC and its staff, the company and its employees have refused to appear in court.
He noted that the company was accused of looting businesses and intimidating Nigerians who have established companies in Nigeria.
According to him, the Nigerian authorities have demanded their appearance, but no action has been taken.
He called for the prosecution of MTN, accusing them of treating Nigeria as a banana republic and threatening to protest if the company is not held accountable.
Barrister Opara also mentioned that letters have been sent to the Inspector General of Police and other authorities since May 2023, urging them to take action.
He stated that investigation concluded with four counts of charges against MTN Nigeria Communication PLC and two of its staff.
The police investigation was thorough, and the evidence and documents were listed, leading to the charges being assigned to Honorable Justice Joyce Abu Malik.
“Now, South African company, I’m talking about MTN, and their staff committed a crime in this country, and the matter was reported to police. All their effort to frustrate this matter during investigation proved a motive. So the investigation was concluded.
“The investigation was concluded against the MTN Nigerian Communication, eh, PLC, and the four count charge were preferred against MTN and the two of his staff, South African company MTN. Now
“Why is it that they refuse to make themselves available and take their plea? And we are saying that where they fail to do that, we are going to protest. We are going to protest.
“We are not only going to protest at MTN office, we are going to protest as false headquarters. We must get it right, something you NTN cannot do in your country, in South Africa, and you feel that you will do it here because we allow you to operate in this country against that,” he stated.
He stressed that MTN and its staff refused to make themselves available for the court proceedings, despite being on administrative bail.
He mentioned that letters have been written to the Inspector General of Police, the new DIG, and the force CID since May 2023, demanding that MTN and its staff be produced to face the charges.
According to him, the refusal of MTN to appear in court is seen as an act of intimidation and looting of businesses. He called for the prosecution of MTN, a legitimate company that has turned into a criminal entity.
The lawyer expressed frustration over the police’s failure to prosecute MTN and its staff. He reiterated that there will be a planned protest at MTN’s offices and headquarters if the company continues to refuse to appear in court. He questioned why MTN, which cannot act similarly in South Africa, feels it can do so in Nigeria.
