Telecommunications giants MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile have dragged the House of Representatives to court over its probe into persistent poor network services across Nigeria.
The operators are asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the lawmakers from investigating their service quality, insisting that such responsibility rests with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The suit, filed on November 4, also seeks to prevent the House from using arrest warrants or other measures to compel the companies’ chief executives to honour its summons.
The plaintiffs include 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.
The defendants are the House of Representatives, its Speaker, the Clerk of the House and the Inspector-General of Police.
The legal battle follows a directive issued on October 29 by the House ad hoc committee investigating poor telecommunications services, ordering the operators’ chief executives to appear before it with relevant documents.
The lawmakers had given MTN, Airtel, Globacom, Mafab Communications and other operators seven days to explain the persistent network failures, warning that their chief executives could face arrest if they ignored the summons.
But the telecoms companies are challenging the constitutional powers of the lawmakers to conduct the investigation.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2713/2026, they argued that Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution limit the National Assembly’s investigative powers to specific matters, including assisting in lawmaking, exposing corruption and inefficiency in the execution of laws, and examining the management of public funds.
They maintained that telecommunications companies are private businesses and do not fall within the constitutional provisions governing the administration of public funds or execution of laws.
The operators also cited Sections 4, 70 and 105 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, as well as the Nigerian Communications (Quality of Service) Regulations 2024, arguing that the NCC has exclusive statutory responsibility for setting, monitoring and enforcing service quality standards.
They warned that allowing the House to proceed with the investigation would amount to an intrusion into the regulatory functions of the commission.
The companies further argued that the proposed probe could interfere with two pending court cases involving 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 other reliefs, the operators want the court to nullify the summonses issued by the House committee and restrain the lawmakers from enforcing them.
They are also seeking an order stopping the House from issuing or using arrest warrants to force their chief executives to appear or submit documents.
The legal action has opened a fresh battle between the telecommunications industry and the legislature over who has the authority to hold operators accountable for the worsening quality of network services.
The court is expected to determine the extent of the National Assembly’s investigative powers and whether the House can intervene in matters already covered by the NCC’s regulatory mandate.
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