9mobile: Court case about transfer of licence, not company’s sale

The management of Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited (EMTS) – trading as 9mobile – says the widely reported court judgment is about the transfer of license, not the sale of the company.

It had earlier been reported that Binta Nyako, a judge at the Abuja high court, voided all moves taken with respect to the exchange of ownership of Etisalat.

“Any action that has been taken concerning the rest of this litigation from the 25th day of April, which is earlier in time, should revert to the position, as of the res, to its 25th day of April 2018,” the judge was reported to have said.

In a statement sent to TheCable on Thursday by Ore Olajide, 9mobile secretary and legal adviser, the company said the court did not nullify the sale of EMTS.

“The court on 1st April 2019 made an order for parties to maintain status quo as of April 25, 2018. As at the said date, EMTS (9mobile) was not a party to the suit before the court,” the statement read.

“The action before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court is not about the sale of EMTS (9mobile) but rather, the transfer of the license even without locus standi.

“The sale of 9mobile to Teleology Nigeria Limited has not been nullified. The court made an order to maintain status quo as at April 25, 2018, when EMTS was not a party to the suit and we have appealed the ruling as well as sought an injunction pending appeal at the Court of Appeal.”