Court adjourns suit against Etisalat over alleged fraudulent lottery

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(Nigeria) A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Tuesday, fixed April 8, to hear a suit filed by a plaintiff, Mr Pascal Ozioko, against Etisalat Nigeria, over an alleged fraudulent promo.
Justice Mohammed Yunusa fixed the date following an application filed by Mr Chukwudi Nnaeke, Counsel to the plaintiff, seeking leave to amend his writ of summons and statement of claim.
The judge adjourned the matter till April 8 to enable counsel to the plaintiff to regularise his processes before the court and the commencement of hearing.
Ozioko had filed the suit in July 2012, for an order, compelling Etisalat to publish the names of alleged winners in a lottery in which it sought to give out N500, 000 daily to participants.
Joined as defendant in the suit is the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, NLRC.
The plaintiff is claiming N100 million against Etisalat, as damages for allegedly misleading its subscribers in the lottery.
In his statement of claim, Ozioko said that in November 2011, he received several SMS from Etisalat, advertising a lottery.
``Etisalat told its subscribers that Range Rover jeeps were to be won monthly, and a daily cash prize of N500, 000 if subscribers answered daily questions sent to them. Each text was to cost N100 and each correct answer attracted points to the subscriber, to qualify him for the prize", Ozioko averred.
He added that Etisalat said that subscribers with the highest points would win the prizes.
Ozioko said that he spent almost all his savings sending answers to the questions which eventually earned him 10 million points, and he received an SMS from Etisalat congratulating him for obtaining the highest points.
``That was all I received from the defendant. I wrote on several occasions to the headquarters of the company at Plot 19, Zone L, Banana Island, Ikoyi, to verify the authenticity of their promises, but all to no avail", he said.
Ozioko said that the misrepresentation on the part of the defendant led to the conclusion that the company was merely using the lottery as a fraud scheme, to defraud telecom subscribers.
He urged the court to compel Etisalat to publish winners of the lottery in national dailies and award him N100, 000 million as damages for misrepresentation and losses suffered. 

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