MTN Nigeria Off the Hook as AGF Pulls Plug on Copyright Case

The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) has withdrawn the criminal copyright infringement case filed against MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, its Chief Executive Officer Karl Toriola, and an executive, Nkeakam Abhulimen.

The decision was announced before Justice Umar Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, during Wednesday’s proceedings. The AGF’s legal team informed the court that following a review, it had decided to drop the names of the first to third defendants—MTN, Toriola, and Abhulimen—from the case.

The withdrawal came after MTN petitioned the AGF to take over the case from the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), which had originally filed the charges. The telecom company alleged that the case was intended to embarrass its executives and harm its business reputation.

The Federal High Court had earlier, on July 8, 2024, granted the AGF permission to assume control of the case for review. Following the petition and subsequent assessment, the AGF determined that the charges against MTN and its officials should be dropped.

Counsel for the AGF, G.C. Nweze, informed the court that two remaining defendants—Fun Mobile Limited and Yahaya Maibe—would face an amended charge. MTN’s counsel, Obafemi Agaba, did not oppose the withdrawal, and Justice Umar subsequently struck out the names of MTN, Toriola, and Abhulimen from the case.

The case originally stemmed from a complaint by musician Maleke Idowu Moye, who accused MTN and others of using his sound recordings as caller ringback tones without authorization. The NCC’s investigation led to criminal charges against MTN and several co-defendants.

With the AGF’s intervention, MTN and its executives have now been cleared of the allegations, while proceedings will continue against the remaining parties.