The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday barred MTN Nigeria Communications Limited from moving any funds from all banks in Nigeria abroad pending the hearing of its suit challenging the N1.4trillion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).

“An order is hereby made directing the parties cited herein to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending further hearing,” Justice Mohammed Idris said, adjourning the case to January 22.

The Federal Government had, through a motion ex-parte, sought an order of mareva injunction restraining the 21 commercial banks from releasing any funds belonging to MTN.

It sought “an order of mareva injunction restraining the aforementioned banks from releasing, further releasing any funds, making sale, transfer or payment of any monies or dealing in any manner whatsoever with any and all monies maintained by the plaintiff/respondent (MTN) or its agents, privies, subsidiaries, sister companies or the like in the aforestated banks that will alter, decline or reduce the amount of the first defendant’s/applicant’s fine against the plaintiff/respondent in the sum of N1,040,000,000,000 which has remained wholly unsatisfied, pending the determination of the motion on notice.”

MTN on December 2015 filed a suit through it lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), urging the court to quash the sanction imposed on it by NCC in October last year for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers.

It sued NCC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), contending that NCC being a regulator cannot assume all the functions of the state.

In court, counsel to the Federal Government, Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN), in the 14-paragraph affidavit deposed by Steve Nwabueze, alleged that MTN was in the habit of regularly repatriating its funds out of Nigeria.

Okpeseyi claimed that between October 2007 and May 2009, a period of 19 months, MTN moved over $7.7bn of the money made in Nigeria to a foreign account.

The lawyer also pointed out to the court an instance when in one day, specifically on February 8, 2008, MTN transferred over $936m out of Nigeria to accounts in Mauritius, Cayman Island and British Virgin Island.

He stated, “unless this honourable court urgently entertains this application, the plaintiff/respondent would move its funds out of Nigeria, being the jurisdiction of this honourable court, and thereby frustrate the enforcement of the fine in the likely event that this honourable court sanctions the imposition of the fine.”

Okpeseyi further insisted that MTN was under an obligation to pay the N1.04tn fine, because it was NCC’s administrative decision, which remained final unless it was reviewed by the commission or nullified by the court.

He submitted that though NCC had earlier given MTN a concession on the fine and reduced it to N780bn, but MTN had neglected or failed to pay on or before December 31, 2015, the fine remained N1.04tn.

The lawyer therefore urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice to prevent the court’s decision from being rendered nugatory if it went in the favour of the Federal Government and NCC.