Skip to main content

Court slams N5m damages on Airtel

court

court

Justice Jude Okeke of an FCT high court Maitama on Wednesday slammed a fine of N5 million on Airtel Nig. Ltd for violation of customer’s right to privacy.

The plaintiff, Mr Emmanuel Anene on Dec. 21 filed a suit against Airtel for continues disturbances through unsolicited messages to his line.

The judge held that the crucial issue that calls for determination here was whether or not that the plaintiff evidence made out a case to justify the claims in the reliefs he sought.

“One of the reliefs sought an order of the court seeks for the award of damages.

“A plaintiff who seeks for a violation of right is to succeed on the strength of his case and not on the weakness or absence of the defence.

“Though he can rely on the absence of the defence to support his case.

He said the burden of proof could shift from party to party until the issue in contention is resolved.

The court records showed that the plaintiff evidence of claims was served on the defendant and led evidence in the support of same.

“The defendant who was afforded the opportunity failed to file a statement of defence contradicting the plaintiff’s statement of claim or fails to lead evidence in challenge to the claims; it means he had admitted the facts.

“Unless the court does not believe in the evidence or sees any reason in contrary in law it reserves a duty to act on such.

“The defendant failed to place any evidence on the other scale of balance there is nothing against in which the plaintiff’s evidence can be weighed.

Okeke held that the plaintiff complained about disturbances and distractions which he did solicit for, from the defendant but the defendant did not reply nor do anything about it.

“The plaintiff having purchase the defendant telephone number a contractual relationship is satisfied, the defendant is in violation of the right to the plaintiff privacy.

“The defendant, having received complaints from the plaintiff but continued to disturb the plaintiff from quiet enjoyment of the line.

“In every wrong there must be a remedy, to vindicate the plaintiff’s right which has been violated in the forth going circumstance by the defendant; the plaintiff shall be awarded damages based on the discretion of the court.

“Against this background putting into consideration the obvious inconveniences, discomfort and the embarrassments the plaintiff had undeniably gone through.

“The defendant has been directed to pay to the plaintiff damages, not the N200 million the plaintiff asked for but N5 million only.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...
Post a Comment
Read more

UK gets new prime minister Wednesday

Britain Home Secretary Theresa May to be officially unveiled as UK’s new Prime Minister on Wednesday David Cameron is to step down as Prime Minister on Wednesday after Prime Minister’s Questions. Theresa May will succeed him. An eurozone’s top official says it’s important that Britain’s next prime minister gets on with sorting out the implications of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union as soon as possible, reports Associated Press. Speaking after it became apparent that Theresa May could replace David Cameron as soon as this week, Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the next British prime minister will have to “find solutions for the Brexit which has been causing a lot of problems particularly for the U.K., but also for Europe.” He said that the “sooner we can sort out this problematic situation the better.” Dijsselbloem spoke ahead of a meeting of the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers in Brussels. Though Britain’s decision to leave the EU isn’t a primary topic of discussion, the ...
Post a Comment
Read more