Court declares unsolicited messages as violation of subscriber’s right

Granting unknown persons and organisations access to a subscriber’s telephone line by MTN for the purpose of sending unsolicited messages to the line is a violation of the subscriber’s right to privacy, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has ruled.

A three-man bench of the Court of Appeal  led by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson, unanimously held  in its judgment that the said MTN’s act was a violation of the subscriber’s right to privacy guaranteed under section 37 of the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, who prepared the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal, held that the innumerable text messages sent without the consent of the subscriber was a violation of the subscriber’s fundamental right to privacy of his telephone conversations, correspondence, his person, telephone line and telephone message inbox.

Justice Agim held, “By giving those unknown persons and organisations access to the respondent’s MTN GSM phone number, to send text messages into it, the appellant violated the respondent’s fundamental right to privacy guaranteed by section 37 of the Constitution which includes the right to the privacy of a person’s telephone line.

“The said section 37 of the 1999 Constitution provides that, ‘The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic conversations is hereby guaranteed and protected’.

“The innumerable text messages without his consent at all times is a violation of his fundamental right to the privacy of his telephone conversations, correspondence and his person and telephone line and telephone message inbox.”

Justice Agim also held that MTN’s act violated Rule 14(1)(b), (2) and (3) of the General Consumer Code of Practice Rules and the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007, both of which were regulations made on the strength of section 70 of the Communications Act.

The two regulations,  according to  Justice Agim, “require the appellant (MTN) to maintain a directory enquiry facility containing information of all its subscribers in Nigeria and allow access to same by third parties but subject to the prior notification of the subscriber”.

Justice Akomolafe-Wilson who head the court’s three man-panel and the another member, Justice Olabisi Ige, agreed with the lead judgment delivered by Justice Agim.