Telecommunications operators in Nigeria have dragged the House of Representatives before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to stop the lawmakers from investigating persistent poor network services across the country.
The operators are challenging the constitutional authority of the National Assembly to investigate telecommunications service quality, arguing that such responsibilities fall within the statutory regulatory powers of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The suit was filed on November 4 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.
Marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2713/2026, the case lists the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Inspector-General of Police as defendants.
The legal action challenges summonses issued on October 29 by the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee on quality of service, directing the chief executives of the telecommunications companies to appear before it and submit relevant documents concerning their operations.
The operators are asking the court to determine whether the lawmakers have the constitutional authority to investigate matters relating to telecommunications service quality, which they maintain are already covered by the regulatory responsibilities of the NCC.
According to the plaintiffs, Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution restrict the investigative powers of the National Assembly to specific purposes, including assisting in making laws, exposing corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution of laws and examining the administration of public funds appropriated by the legislature.
They argued that the telecommunications companies are private operators and do not fall within the constitutional provisions governing the execution or administration of laws or the management of public funds.
The operators also relied on Sections 4, 70 and 105 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, as well as the Nigerian Communications (Quality of Service) Regulations, 2024, which they said empower the NCC to establish, monitor and enforce service quality standards in the telecommunications industry.
They maintained that allowing the House committee to proceed with the investigation could amount to interference with the commission’s statutory responsibilities.
The companies further argued that the proposed investigation could interfere with two pending court cases concerning telecommunications service quality.
The cases are 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 the reliefs sought, the telecommunications operators are asking the court to nullify the summonses issued by the House committee and restrain the lawmakers and other defendants from enforcing them.
They are also seeking an order preventing the House from using arrest warrants or other enforcement measures to compel their chief executives to appear before the committee or produce documents.
Additionally, they want an injunction restraining the lawmakers from investigating telecommunications service quality in circumstances they consider outside the purposes permitted under Section 88(2) of the Constitution or where such investigations interfere with the NCC’s statutory regulatory responsibilities.
The lawsuit comes weeks after the House of Representatives threatened to issue arrest warrants against the chief executives of MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, Mafab Communications and other telecommunications operators over persistent poor network services.
The lawmakers had directed the companies to appear before the ad hoc committee on November 4, 2026, to explain recurring service failures affecting millions of subscribers.
The complaints included dropped calls, slow internet connections, failed airtime and data transactions, poor network coverage and unreliable telecommunications services in several communities.
The committee, chaired by Olumide Osoba, rejected an attempt by ALTON to represent the companies through its chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, insisting that the chief executives and senior management officials must personally account for their companies’ performance.
The lawmakers argued that each telecommunications company held an individual operating licence and should therefore be directly accountable for its services rather than relying on an industry association to answer questions on its behalf.
Moving a motion on the matter, committee member Sunday Umeha criticised a letter reportedly written by ALTON questioning the committee’s authority to compel the operators to appear.
He argued that the association’s position suggested that the companies considered their appearance before the lawmakers a privilege rather than a statutory obligation.
“I was shocked with what I saw in the letter. I saw a situation where ALTON is saying that they are not bound to appear before this committee. They see their appearance as a privilege to this committee and not as a statutory obligation,” Umeha said.
He added, “We have the powers to compel their appearance before us in accordance with the Constitution.”
The lawmaker cited Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution, arguing that the National Assembly had the authority to investigate matters connected with its legislative responsibilities.
The House spokesman, Akin Rotimi, who seconded the motion, also insisted that individual telecommunications operators must account for the quality of services delivered to their subscribers.
Rotimi raised concerns about poor network coverage in parts of his constituency in Ekiti State, arguing that the absence of mobile signals in some communities and along major roads posed serious security risks.
He alleged that two traditional rulers in his constituency had been killed in an ambush along a stretch of road where mobile network signals were unavailable for about 20 minutes.
According to him, poor connectivity could prevent residents and travellers from contacting security agencies or requesting emergency assistance when confronted with danger.
The committee also questioned Adebayo over a reported ₦8.46bn fine imposed on Globacom, raising concerns about whether the ALTON chairman could adequately address regulatory and operational matters involving an individual telecommunications operator while representing the industry association.
The committee subsequently adopted a motion insisting on the personal appearance of the telecommunications executives and scheduled its next sitting for November 4.
Meanwhile, the NCC has introduced several measures aimed at improving service delivery and addressing complaints from telecommunications subscribers.
On October 20, the commission disclosed that telecommunications operators had compensated 75 million subscribers for poor network services in 2026 under its consumer compensation framework.
Nearly three million other subscribers had reportedly received refunds for failed airtime and data purchases.
The commission also reported that more than 6,500 network interventions had been carried out during the year, including equipment upgrades and additional network capacity in areas experiencing increased demand.
Despite these interventions, subscribers have continued to complain about dropped calls, unreliable internet connections, billing disputes, rapid data depletion and failed transactions.
Figures attributed to the commission 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.
