The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu, over the alleged ”arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unfair, and unreasonable 50 percent telecom tariff hike by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.
Also joined in the suit as defendants are the NCC, which recently approved a 50 percent hike in telecom tariffs.
The average price of calls will rise to N16.5 per minute from N11; the cost of 1GB of data will rise to N431.25 from N287.5/GB; and SMS prices to N6 from N4, by the increase.
The suit, with number, FHC/ABJ/CS/111/2025, was filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to determine “whether the unilateral decision by the NCC to authorise telcos to hike telecom tariffs by 50 percent is not arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unfair, unreasonable and inconsistent with citizens’ freedom of expression and access to information”.
SERAP is also asking the court for a declaration that the unilateral decision by the NCC to authorise telcos to hike telecom tariff by 50 percent is arbitrary, unfair, unreasonable and inconsistent and incompatible with citizens’ freedom of expression and access to information and therefore unconstitutional and unlawful.
An order of interim injunction, according SERAP is seeking to restrain NCC, its officers, agents, privies, assigns, or any other person or persons acting on its instructions from further implementing, enforcing and doing any act to give effect to the decision of the NCC authorizing telecom tariff hike by 50 percent.