Court Dismisses Suit Challenging 9mobile Sale

• Court Dismisses Suit Challenging 9mobile Sale

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday dismissed a suit challenging the sale of telecommunications firm, 9mobile, by Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services.

Justice C.J. Aneke dismissed the suit, after holding that the plaintiff, Spectrum Wireless Communications Limited, lacked the locus standi to maintain the action against Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services.

The judge upheld the preliminary objection by EMTS, which denied any direct shareholding relationship between it and SWCL, to give the plaintiff the right to challenge 9mobile’s sale.

SWCL had sued EMTS and 16 others, including United Capital Trustees Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission, challenging 9mobile’s sale.

The plaintiff had claimed that it acquired indirect holding of 30 per cent of the shares of EMTS after a private placement and was allotted 4,041,096 Class A shares of PTHNV, which owns 99 per cent of the shares in MyaCynth.

The plaintiff also claimed that MyaCynth holds 30 per cent of the shares of EMTS BV; that EMTS BV holds 99.9 per cent of the shares of EMTS and that EMTS’ syndicated loan from the second to fourth defendants was granted without the requisite statutory approval of the CBN.

It further claimed that its investments in EMTS will be lost if the 15th to 17th defendants were allowed to effect the sale of EMTS.