Court Lifts Order Restraining MTN, ATC from Constructing Base Stations 

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The coast has been cleared for the construction of new Base Transceiver Stations across Nigeria, following the lifting of an order of court restraining MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and ATC Nigeria Wireless Infrastructure Limited, from proceeding with the project.

Justice Yellim Bogoro of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, had on November 21, 2023, while ruling in an exparte application, halted MTN and ATC from going ahead with the planned construction of new Base Transceiver Stations.

The temporary order was pending the hearing and determination of a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of HEDA Resource Centre.

Specifically, the plaintiff in arguing its motion submitted that a total of 2,500 Base Transceiver Stations to be constructed by ATC for MTN’s operations, were within proximity to Base Transceiver Stations belonging to IHS Towers Nigeria Limited. 

Besides MTN and ATC, other respondents in the suit marked: FHC/L/CS/2359/2023, include the Federal Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management and other defendant.

However, at the resumed hearing on March 8, 2024, the court vacated the order restraining the respondents from proceeding with their planned construction.

Justice Bogoro vacated the order shortly after listening to lawyers representing MTN and ATC.

Argued his client’s application for an order setting aside the earlier restraining order, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, submitted that the restraining order ought not to have been granted in the first instance, because the applicant did not show any real urgency or imminent wrong it would suffer, if the respondents were not restrained. 

Besides, MTN contended that HEDA Resource Centre, in obtaining the interim order, concealed key facts which would have aided the court in coming to a different decision on the issue.  

Similarly, ATC through its lawyer, Nicholas Okafor, argued that the interim order obtained against it was baseless in law and was made in the absence of jurisdiction.  

In its ruling, the court agreed with MTN that the interim order ought not to have been granted, given that there was no genuine urgency disclosed by the plaintiff, to warrant the making of the order in the first place. 

It also agreed with MTN that HEDA concealed the important fact that none of MTN’s Base Transceiver Stations violated Nigeria Communication Commission’s Regulations on spacing that should exist between towers. 

The judge subsequently adjourned hearing till April 22, 2024.