N250million LawSuit: Subscriber drags MTN to Court over wrongful arrest, Illegal detention

A
subscriber to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, Chidi Johnson has
instituted N250million suit against the telecommunications company
before a  Federal High Court in Lagos, south west Nigeria over his
alleged harassment, arrest and illegal detention without a reasonable
cause.

Johnson is claiming the sum as damages  for the public
harassment, inconvenience and loss of business he suffered as a result
of his arrest and detention by the police which was allegedly instigated
by MTN Nigeria Communication.
    In an affidavit he sworn to and
filed before the court by a Lagos lawyer, Barrister Onu Uche, his arrest
and detention was instigated by the telecommunications company  on July
17, 2018 when he visited the company’s  Call Centre at No 60, Akowonjo
Road, Egbeda, within Lagos metropolis to retrieve his lost MTN line.

He
averred that a female customer care representative of the Defendant, Ms
Monica Umukoro instead of taking his complaints as was being done with
the people who had earlier been attended to, directed him to take a seat
at the back of the office.

Johnson also stated that he was
thereafter surrounded by the Defendant’s security offlcials who in the
company of Ms. Umukoro, informed him that his picture in the Defendant’s
computer system bore an all four resemblance to one of the Defendant’s
subscribers whom the Defendant had been staking on its watch list to
apprehend.

The Claimant further alleged that he was thereafter
led to the security post of one commercial Banks near the Defendant’s
call centre, where he was detained for several hours, before he was
handed over to the officers of the Gowon Estate Divisional Police
Station.

He stated that at the police station he was harassed,
abused, demeaned and detained till the next day without food, medical
care and reasonable cause, and was later asked to make a statement.

The
claimant further stated that after investigation was conducted by the
police, it was discovered that the picture on the Defendant’s computer
system was not his but that of some other person that purportedly bore
an all four resemblance to him.

He claimed that he was then reluctantly released on bail to one Akajiaku, who acted as his surety.

Johnson
also stated that after his released, he wrote a petition against the
Defendant through his lawyer to the Human Rights Department of the Lagos
State Police Command but due to the inconclusive investigation his
solicitors caused a letter of demand to be written to MTN.

But
MTN in its reply absolved itself completely from the incident of his
unlawful arrest, detention and harassment which was instigated by it.

The
claimant is therefore seeking a declaration that his arrest, detention
and public harassment by the police instigated by Ms. Umukoro, an
employee of MTN is illegal, unlawful, wrongful, and amounts to an
infringement of his Right to personal liberty.

He is also asking
the court for a declaration that his arrest and detention was wrongful
and amounts to False Imprisonment as well an an order mandating MTN to
render an unreserved public apology to him in at least Two National
Dailies.

MTN is yet to file a defence to the suit, which is yet
to be assigned to a judge, but in its letter to the claimant, the
company stated that it has a civil duty to report the suspicion of a
crime to law enforcement agencies.