SERAP sues Federal Government, NCC, telecoms firms over approved 50 percent tariff increase

*The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project urges the court for a declaration that the ‘unilateral decision’ by the Nigerian Communications Commission to authorise Mobile Network Providers to hike telecoms tariff by 50 percent is ‘arbitrary, unfair, unreasonable and inconsistent and incompatible with citizens’ freedom of expression and access to information, and therefore unconstitutional and unlawful’

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Following the recent regulatory approval for Telcos’ proposal for tariff increments in the ecosystem, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what the group described as “the arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unfair, and unreasonable 50 percent telecom tariff hike by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).”

ConsumerConnect reports SERAP, in the Suit Number: FHC/ABJ/CS/111/2025, which Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, counsel to the group, filed Friday, January 24, 2025, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, FCT, also joined in the NCC as a defendant in the suit.

Photo collage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and SERAP logo

It is recalled the telecoms sector regulatory Commission recently approved a 50 percent hike in telecoms tariffs in the West African country’s digital ecosystem.

Sequel to the approval of the tariff increases by the percentage, the average price of calls will rise to N16.5 per minute from N11; the cost of 1GB of data will increase to N431.25 from N287.5/GB; and SMS prices to N6 from N4 respectively.

In the suit, SERAP is urging the court to determine “whether the unilateral decision by the NCC to authorise Telcos to hike telecom tariffs by 50 percent is not arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unfair, unreasonable and inconsistent with citizens’ freedom of expression and access to information.”

The group is equally asking the court for “a declaration that the unilateral decision by the NCC to authorise Telcos to hike telecom tariff by 50 percent is arbitrary, unfair, unreasonable and inconsistent and incompatible with citizens’ freedom of expression and access to information, and therefore unconstitutional and unlawful.”

SERAP is seeking “an order of interim injunction restraining the NCC, its officers, agents, privies, assigns, or any other person or persons acting on its instructions from further implementing, enforcing and doing any act to give effect to the decision of the NCC authorizing telecom tariff hike by 50 percent.”

SERAP also contended that “the legal and constitutional provisions as well as international standards on freedom of expression and access to information constitute the repository of legality.

“The requirements of legality constrain the exercise of statutory powers by the NCC to authorise any increase in telecom tariffs.”

Adegboruwa, in the suit filed on behalf of SERAP, stated: “The demands of legality impose clear duties of fairness and reasonableness on the NCC in the exercise of its powers to authorise the telecoms tariff hike by 50 percent, which is the subject-matter of this suit.

“The NCC is required under the legal provisions on consumers’ rights and constitutional and international standards on freedom of expression and access to information to base its decision on reasonable interpretations of its enabling statutes and guidelines and other relevant legal frameworks, and to follow due process.”

It further noted: “The exercise of the statutory powers of the NCC in approving the telecom tariff hike is a grave violation of the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

“These legal and constitutional provisions and international human rights standards recognise that every individual has the right to an equal opportunity to receive, seek and impart information through any communication medium without discrimination.”

SERAP said: “The constitutional and democratic anomalies complained of by SERAP is more apparent when the said unilateral decision of the NCC approving a 50 percent increase in telecommunication tariffs is juxtaposed with the apparent procedural breaches of the condition-precedent for any approval of increase.

“The NCC is the statutory agency charged with the responsibility of promoting and implementing the national communications or telecommunications policy in Nigeria.”

The counsel stated: “The latest patently unconstitutional and unlawful increase in telecommunication tariffs is coming on the heels of a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which shows that some 133 million Nigerians are poor.

Tariff adjustment is a fundamental breach of due process of law, says SERAP

“The NBS report also shows that over half of the population of Nigeria are multi-dimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than cleaner energy.”

SERAP said: “The increase in telecommunications tariffs is a fundamental breach of due process of law, as the purported approval by the NCC failed to meet the high threshold of consultation with key stakeholders, especially the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, which is the primary consumer protection agency in Nigeria.”

“The increase in telecommunication tariffs is coming at a time when Nigerians are deeply burdened by the cost of living crisis.

“The cost of living crisis has resulted in low quality of life, unemployment and deaths, as many socially and economically vulnerable people scramble for free food in public and religious gatherings.”

“The present-day economic realities in Nigeria include chronic poverty amongst a high percentage of citizens and the growing inability of several state governments to pay salary and pensions of workers, especially as the country still suffers from the removal of fuel subsidy, electricity tariff hike and inflated cost of food in the market.”

SERAP seeking reliefs from court

SERAP is, therefore, asking the court for the following reliefs: A Declaration that the unilateral decision of the NCC approving the increase of telecommunications tariff by 50 percent is arbitrary, unfair, unreasonable,  and a deliberate attempt to stifle the constitutional and international human rights of citizens to freely express themselves and share information, and breach of sections 104 and 127 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 [as amended] and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

An Order setting aside the unilateral decision of the NCC approving the increase of telecommunications tariff by 50 percent contained in a press statement published by the NCC on 20th January 2025 for being arbitrary, unfair, extortive, unreasonable, unconstitutional and a breach of the provisions of Sections 104 and 127 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 [as amended], Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

An Order restraining the NCC, its agents, assigns, privies and or representatives or such other persons acting on its behalf, and all telecommunication companies in Nigeria from implementing and/or enforcing the unilateral decision of the NCC approving the increase of telecommunications tariff by 50 percent as contained in a press statement published by the NCC on 20th January 2025.

And For Such Further Order(S) that the Honorable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance of this suit.

Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the interim application and the substantive suit, noted SERAP.

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