COMEDIAN JULIUS AGWU SUES ETISALAT TO COURT AND DEMAND N100m FOR BLOCKING HIS LINE

Ace Comedian Julius Agwu has dragged telecoms giant Etisalat to court

for blocking his business line. He is demanding the sum of N100million

as compensation for jobs lost, contact lost, for the inconveniences,

and for being mistreated by Etisalat staff.



Here is a statement from his lawyer, Festus Keyamo...



We are solicitors to Mr. Julius Agwu, one of Nigeria's most sought

after entertainers (hereinafter referred to as "our client") and on

whose behalf we write.



Our client is the owner of the Etisalat GSM phone number 08189555555,

which he uses as his business line. On the 8th of October, 2013, our

client travelled out of the country and returned on the 17th of the

same month. Upon his return, he tried severally to make calls from the

aforestated GSM line but same could not connect. Not only could he not

make calls, he also could not receive calls on the said GSM line. This

continued for some days until he got a message that his line had been

blocked by the network provider.

Sequel to the above message, our client promptly visited your Abuja

office at Hilton to report the matter.

He was attended to by one Miss Joan, who informed him that somebody

swapped his line. After our client successfully answered the security

questions put to him, he was informed that his line had been restored,

but the credit balance on the line was not returned.



Surprisingly, our client's aforestated line was blocked again after he

left your said Abuja office. Once again our client visited your office

at the local wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Ikeja,

Lagos to lodge a complaint, but painfully, nothing was done about it.

However, after sometime, our client was invited for a meeting at your

head office in Lagos on the 14th of November, 2013 which he duly

honoured. Present at the meeting (in addition to the officials of your

organization) was Mr. Mobolaji Okusaga, the Managing Director of

The Quadrant Company, in his capacity as media agents/managers for

Etisalat Nigeria.

At the end of the meeting, our client was told for the umpteenth time

that they would get back to him, which they again failed to do.



LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES



It cannot be over emphasized that your actions of unlawfully blocking

and/or swapping our client's line occasioned loss of business

opportunities to him. As you are aware, our client as one of the most

sought after Nigerian entertainers needs his phone line to be easily

accessible to keep his business going. It therefore goes without

saying that our client has lost some business opportunities as a

result of your actions.

TAKE NOTICE that we have our client's firm instruction to demand and

hereby demand the sum of N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira)

as compensation for the loss of business opportunities and the

inconvenience caused our client by reason of your unlawful and

unjustified blocking and/or swapping of our client's Etisalat GSM

phone line.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that in the event that you fail, refuse or neglect

to accede to our above stated demand within seven (7) days from the

receipt of this letter, we shall be compelled to set in motion against

you, all legal machineries necessary to obtain legal remedy for our

client.



Thank you.



Yours sincerely,



FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ.