MTN Nigeria has initiated legal proceedings against more than 20 banks as part of its efforts to recover nearly ₦6 billion in interconnect fees owed by SleekChip Technologies Limited, an international direct access and transit service provider licensed in Nigeria. The telecom giant is enforcing a court judgment authorising it to reclaim the outstanding funds through garnishment proceedings.
In November 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, ruled in favour of MTN, ordering SleekChip to pay $1.97 million—or the naira equivalent at the official Central Bank of Nigeria rate. The court also granted an interest rate of 2% above the Nigerian Interbank Offer Rate, retroactive to January 31, 2022, until the debt is fully settled.
The dispute stems from a 2019 interconnection agreement between MTN and SleekChip, which allowed for the exchange of calls and messages between their networks. MTN claimed that SleekChip accrued significant unpaid charges between January and October 2022. Despite repeated demand letters and a written debt acknowledgement from SleekChip in May 2023, no repayment was made.
Following the favourable judgment, MTN moved to enforce it by applying for court orders to freeze and seize funds belonging to SleekChip across multiple Nigerian banks. The telecom company calculated the naira value of the judgment debt at over ₦3.28 billion using the exchange rate of ₦1,665.84 to the dollar as of November 7, 2024. With interest included, the total claim exceeds ₦5 billion.
Court documents indicate that on May 16, 2025, representatives from MTN and several banks appeared before Justice Lifu. MTN informed the court that most of the banks had submitted affidavits revealing whether they held any accounts for SleekChip. Over 10 banks were subsequently discharged after confirming they had no financial relationship with the debtor.
Some banks, however, objected to MTN’s request to conduct further account searches using SleekChip’s Bank Verification Number (BVN), stating that no such directive had been issued by the court. The next hearing is scheduled for June 26, 2025, to continue the garnishee proceedings.
This case highlights MTN’s increasingly assertive approach to debt recovery within Nigeria’s telecom sector. In 2023, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved MTN’s request to disconnect several service providers over unpaid interconnect charges, including SleekChip and Exchange Telecommunications.
The ongoing court action reflects a shift in MTN’s strategy, favouring judicial enforcement over regulatory intervention in collecting outstanding debts. With rising operational costs and the pressure of network expansion, telecom operators are tightening their stance on defaulting partners, particularly over interconnect obligations.
Industry stakeholders are closely monitoring the proceedings, which could set new precedents for commercial contracts and debt enforcement in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving telecom industry.
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