NCC attention drawn in petition to Airtel over corporate negligence

• Lawyer calls on NCC to sanction telecom giant

Business a.m. Reporter

Airtel Networks Ltd, a major telecom service provider in Nigeria, has been petitioned by a human rights lawyer, Olubunmi Odeniyi over an explosion resulting in an inferno at one of its base transceiver stations (BTS) at Abaranje, Ikotun, in the outskirts of Lagos State, which killed one person and inflicted major life-deforming burns on four others.

Sadly, the telecom operator, which owns more than 10,000 BTS across Nigeria, has reportedly rebuffed every effort to get it to attend to the victims. Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said Airtel had 7,699 BTS as of 2018.

Many have described Airtel’s action as “corporate business negligence lacking humanitarian compassion”. Others said the company has exhibited “commerce without conscience”.

The  human rights lawyer representing the victims of a tragic explosion at the AIRTEL Networks Limited base station in Ikotun, Lagos, has taken decisive steps to hold the major telecom provider accountable for its alleged negligence.

The lawyer’s move comes in the form of an official letter to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) requesting that the regulator take appropriate disciplinary action against the telecoms giant, with the aim of ensuring justice for the victims and preventing the incident from occurring in the future.

Odeniyi, the lead counsel for the victims, in a letter issued on April 22, 2024, addressed to Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman/CEO of the NCC, urged the telecoms regulator to demonstrate its commitment to safeguarding consumers’ interests by levying appropriate fines as a deterrent to the industry, and a clear message to others to prioritise safety in their operations.

The letter was titled “OFFICIAL REPORT/COMPLAINT OF NEGLIGENT AND RECKLESS OPERATION OF AIRTEL AT ITS BASE STATION BTS LAG 767) AT NO. 15/19, ABIODUN IBIDAPO STREET, ASALU BUS-STOP, ABARANJE, IKOTUN, LAGOS STATE ON TUESDAY, 19 MARCH, 2024 CAUSING AN INFERNO RESULTING IN SEVERE LIFE-CHANGING BURNS ON FOUR (4) PEOPLE.”

Odeniyi also urged the NCC to mandate the immediate shutdown of the site, bringing all operations to a halt. This step, the counsel argues, is crucial for preserving the site’s evidentiary value for subsequent investigations by the Commission and other relevant government agencies.

The human rights lawyer, who stated that “Airtel management have refused to engage the injured in any manner to assuage their desperate medical emergency,” also pleaded with the telecoms regulator to “Direct AIRTEL management to immediately initiate urgent and rehabilitative medical remediation of our Clients.”

The letter read: “We are Solicitors/Counsel to the four (4 Nos.) innocent passers-by who were severely burned in a fire that broke out at the AIRTEL BASE STATION at No. 15/19, Abiodun Ibidapo Street, Asalu Bus-stop, Abaranje, Ikotun, Lagos State on Tuesday, 19 March, 2024. They are Messrs. FERANMI NURENI OLUWATOBA; SAHEED ADELEKE; FRANKLIN OBADE; and SAHEED RAJI.

“Our Clients were rushed to various hospitals in the vicinity where sporadic and altogether inadequate services are being done hamstrung by the lack of financial capacity by the victims and their families. 

“The cause of the explosion was the reckless manner of operations on the site where a welder was welding a tank and a diesel supplier [was] making a delivery of fuel at the same AIRTEL site.

“We have brought this dire situation to the attention of Airtel by our duly acknowledged letter dated 2 April, 2024 but Airtel management have refused to engage the injured in any manner to assuage their desperate medical emergency. Our Clients are currently undergoing intense pain and suffering, discomforts, disfigurement, neglect, losses of income and unplanned daily mounting medical bills.

“Our humble request to your Commission is to pro-actively intervene in the following manner:

1. Order the immediate closure and cessation of operations at the site to maintain the integrity of the site for appropriate investigation by your Commission and other concerned statutory bodies;
2. Direct AIRTEL management to immediately initiate urgent and rehabilitative medical remediation of our Clients;
3. Further direct AIRTEL to promptly and adequately compensate the injured; and
4. Levy appropriate sanctions by way of fines as a deterrence.

“Our Clients rely on your Commission as their conditions cannot survive with a protracted court litigation which will only favour AIRTEL.”