By Paul Joseph
Telecommunications companies operating in Nigeria have sued the House of Representatives over its planned investigation into persistent poor network services, asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain the lawmakers from compelling their chief executives to appear before its committee.
The operators argued that investigating and regulating telecommunications service quality fall within the statutory mandate of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), warning that the lawmakers’ intervention could encroach on the commission’s regulatory responsibilities.
The suit was filed on November 4, 2026, by the Registered Trustees of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Airtel Networks Limited, Globacom Limited and Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited, operators of 9mobile.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2713/2026, also names the Speaker of the House, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Inspector-General of Police as defendants.
The companies are challenging summonses issued on October 29 by the House ad hoc committee on quality of service, which directed their chief executives to appear before it and provide documents relating to their operations.
They want the court to determine whether Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution empower the National Assembly to investigate telecommunications service quality, particularly as the companies are private operators.
According to the plaintiffs, the constitutional provisions restrict the legislature’s investigative powers to matters relating to lawmaking, exposing corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution of laws, and examining the administration of public funds appropriated by the legislature.
They also cited Sections 4, 70 and 105 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and the Nigerian Communications (Quality of Service) Regulations, 2024, which they said empower the NCC to establish, monitor and enforce service quality standards.
The operators further argued that the proposed investigation could interfere with two pending court cases involving telecommunications service quality: HCS/261/2025, instituted by Fatokunboh Fagun and another on behalf of themselves and MTN subscribers, and FHC/ABJ/CS/1886/2026, filed by Kaatruths Podcast Limited.
Among their requests, the companies are seeking an order nullifying the committee’s summonses and restraining the lawmakers from enforcing them through arrest warrants or other measures.
They also want the court to prevent the House from investigating telecommunications service quality in circumstances they consider outside its constitutional powers or within the NCC’s statutory regulatory jurisdiction.
The legal dispute follows the House of Representatives’ threat to issue arrest warrants against the chief executives of MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, Mafab Communications and other operators over persistent complaints about poor network services.
The lawmakers had summoned the companies to appear before the committee on November 4, 2026, to explain recurring service failures affecting millions of subscribers.
Among the complaints were dropped calls, slow internet connections, failed airtime and data transactions, poor network coverage and unreliable services across several communities.
At an earlier sitting, the committee, chaired by Olumide Osoba, rejected ALTON’s attempt to represent the operators through its chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, insisting that the chief executives and senior management officials must personally account for their companies’ performance.
The lawmakers maintained that each telecommunications company operates under an individual licence and should therefore be directly accountable for the quality of services delivered to subscribers.
Committee member Sunday Umeha criticised a letter reportedly submitted by ALTON questioning the committee’s authority to compel the operators to appear, insisting that their attendance was a constitutional obligation.
The House spokesman, Akin Rotimi, who seconded the motion, also defended the lawmakers’ position, citing Section 88 of the Constitution as the basis for their investigative powers.
Rotimi expressed concern over poor network coverage in parts of his constituency in Ekiti State, warning that the absence of mobile signals in some communities and along major roads could create security challenges.
He alleged that two traditional rulers in his constituency had been killed in an ambush along a road where mobile network signals were unavailable for about 20 minutes.
The committee also questioned Adebayo over a reported ₦8.46 billion fine imposed on Globacom, raising concerns about his ability to address the operational and regulatory issues of an individual company while representing the industry association.
Meanwhile, the NCC has introduced measures aimed at improving telecommunications services and addressing subscribers’ complaints.
On October 20, the commission disclosed that operators had compensated 75 million subscribers for poor network services in 2026 under its consumer compensation framework.
It also reported that nearly three million subscribers had received refunds for failed airtime and data purchases, while more than 6,500 network interventions had been undertaken through equipment upgrades and additional network capacity.
Despite these measures, subscribers continue to report dropped calls, unstable internet connections, billing disputes, rapid data depletion and failed transactions.
Figures attributed to the NCC for the first half of 2026 showed that the four major operators recorded 413,587 consumer complaints, with 406,938 reportedly resolved.
Airtel Nigeria accounted for 228,992 complaints, followed by MTN Nigeria with 124,405, Globacom with 56,810 and T2mobile with 3,885.
The court’s determination of the suit will address the scope of the National Assembly’s investigative powers and their relationship with the NCC’s statutory regulatory responsibilities.
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