Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
MTN Nigeria has instituted a legal action against no fewer than 20 banks in an effort to recover about N6 billion in interconnect debt from SleekChip Technologies Limited, a licensed international direct access and transit service provider.
This move comes on the heels of a court judgment awarding the telecom giant the right to reclaim funds owed through garnishee proceedings.
Recall that the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, ruled in November 2024 that SleekChip must pay MTN $1.97 million—or its naira equivalent – at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate at the time.
The court also granted interest on the debt at a rate 2% above the Nigerian Interbank Offer Rate, backdated to January 31, 2022, until full repayment is made.
At the middle of the dispute lies a 2019 interconnection agreement between MTN and SleekChip, which permitted the exchange of calls and messages between their networks.
MTN alleged that from January to October 2022, SleekChip accumulated significant unpaid charges.
Despite repeated demand notices and a formal acknowledgment of debt by SleekChip in May 2023, no repayment was made.
With the judgment in hand, MTN has proceeded to enforce it by seeking court orders to freeze and seize SleekChip’s funds held across Nigerian banks.
The telecom operator pegged the naira value of the judgment debt at over N3.28 billion based on the exchange rate of N1,665.84 to the dollar as of November 7, 2024, with interest claims pushing the amount beyond N5 billion. And the debt has continued to climb, amounting to almost N6 billion.
Court records show that on May 16, 2025, representatives from MTN and several banks appeared before Justice Lifu.
MTN submitted that most banks had filed affidavits disclosing the status of any accounts held by SleekChip.
The court subsequently discharged over 10 banks that confirmed they had no financial ties to the debtor.
Some banks raised objections to MTN’s request to extend searches using the debtor’s BVN, arguing that the court had issued no such order.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for June 26, 2025, to continue the garnishee proceedings.