Court strikes out Funtua’s suit against 9mobile

By Lukman Olabiyi

The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by businessman, Abubakar Ismaila Isa Funtua, over the alleged unauthorized transfer of 43 million shares to Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited (EMTS), operators of 9mobile.

Delivering judgment on September 24, 2025, Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that Isa lacked the locus standi, the legal capacity to bring the case against the nine defendants, effectively ending the suit.

The defendants in the case included Seltrix Limited, Hayatu Hassan Hadejia, Teleology Nigeria Limited, Mohammed Edewor, EMTS, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), LH Telecommunication Limited, and General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma.

Isa, through his counsel, Femi Atteh, SAN, had filed the suit on December 27, 2024.

He sought 11 reliefs, including a declaration that he was the beneficial owner of the shares allegedly held in trust for him by Seltrix Ltd in Teleology Nigeria Ltd.

However, several of the defendants including Teleology Nigeria Ltd, Mohammed Edewor, EMTS, LH Telecommunication Ltd, and Gen. Danjuma filed a joint preliminary objection on February 5, 2025.

Represented by Senior Advocates Michael Aondakaa, C.I. Okpoko, R.O. Atabo, and other counsel, they argued the case should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and as an abuse of court process.

Justice Umar upheld their objection, stating that Isa had failed to establish any legal interest in the disputed shares or show sufficient connection to the subject matter of the suit.

“I carefully reviewed the exhibits presented by the plaintiff and found no evidence supporting his claim of holding 43 million shares in trust. “The second defendant explicitly denied having any business relationship with the plaintiff, and these facts were not rebutted. The documents tendered do not constitute any form of trust that would confer legal standing on the plaintiff,” the judge said.

The court also noted that Isa had failed to respond adequately to the counter-affidavits filed by the defendants.

According to the judge, such failure amounts to an admission under the law.

“In view of the plaintiff’s lack of locus standi, it is unnecessary to address the remaining objections raised, including that the suit was statute-barred, incompetent, and amounted to interference in EMTS’s operations,” Justice Umar ruled.

In conclusion, the court struck out the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1971/2024, on the grounds that Isa lacked the legal capacity to bring the action.

“This action is hereby struck out for lack of locus standi. This is the order of the Court,” the judge declared.