www.ekekeee.com/can-carry-sms-fundraising-now-court-tells-apc/

The All Progressives Congress, APC, on
Wednesday secured an interim injunction
overruling the ban on its fund-raising scheme via
telecommunication networks pending the
determination of a substantive suit.
An ex-parte application brought by APC counsel,
Muiz Banire, on the issue was granted by Justice
Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The National Communication Commission, NCC,
had stopped the telecommunications service
providers from allowing APC to use the 35350
SMS code to raise funds for its presidential
campaign.
Mr. Buba, on Wednesday, ordered that the 2nd to
6th defendants — Etisalat Nigeria, MTN Nig. Ltd,
Globacom Ltd, Airtel Nig. and Visafone
Communications Ltd — should immediately
reactivate the applicant’s presidential campaign
fund-raising SMS scheme.
The judge also granted the applicant the leave to
serve the respondents the originating summons
and other processes outside the court’s
jurisdiction.
Mr. Buba adjourned till February 4, to hear the
substantive suit.
The APC in the substantive suit had urged the
court to award N25 billion damages against the
Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, for
allegedly prohibiting its presidential campaign
fund-raising scheme.
Also joined in the suit are Etisalat Nigeria, MTN
Nig. Ltd, Globacom Ltd, Airtel Nig. and Visafone
Communications Ltd.
In a 16-paragragh affidavit deposed to by one
Ademola Sodiq, the APC accused the NCC of
instructing the 2nd to 6th respondents to
discontinue an SMS platform it created for
donations for its presidential campaign.
According to Mr. Sodiq, the participatory fund-
raising strategy was for members of the public to
contribute N100 to the APC’s presidential
campaign fund each time they send APC as an
SMS to 35350.
Mr. Sodiq explained that the party’s strategy was
borne out of its commitment to raise fund for its
presidential campaign in a “transparent and
accountable manner”.
The deponent said that within few hours of
launching the strategy on January 20, the party
received a total of 5,400 SMS before the NCC
directed the telecommunications service providers
to discontinue the scheme.
Mr. Sodiq said that shortly after the APC
announced its participatory fund-raising strategy
on January 20, the first respondent immediately
wrote a letter to the second respondent to stop
it.
He said that the NCC warned the networks to
avoid running political advertisement/promotions
that would portray them as being partisan.
According to Mr. Sodiq, since the purported
directive, members, supporters and other
Nigerians, who intend to donate to the
presidential campaign of the applicant, had been
incapacitated.
He said that the action of the 1st respondent had
consequently adversely affected the plaintiff’s
financial capacity to effectively prosecute its
presidential campaign.
Mr. Sodiq said that by banning the APC
presidential campaign fund-raising scheme, the
NCC contravened Section 39 of the 1999
Constitution.
He also said that the action was a violation of
Articles 9 (1) (2) and 19 of the African Charter on
Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and
Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9, Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The APC counsel, Mr. Kola Awodein (SAN), urged
the court to declare the NCC’s directive as
“unconstitutional, illegal, null, void and of no
effect”.
He argued that the NCC acted beyond its powers
when it gave such directive against the provisions
of Sections 39 and 42 of the Nigerian 1999
Constitution.