Nigeria’s telecommunications watchdog has encouraged subscribers to sue mobile networks for poor quality of service.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it was willing to give necessary support to any subscriber who wished to seek legal redress.

NCC spokesperson, Reuben Muoka, said encouraging subscribers to file suits against telecom operators for poor service could compel them to “get their acts together” and enhance service delivery.

The NCC itself has in previous years issued hefty fines to mobile operators such as MTN and Glo Mobile for poor network quality: involving the likes of dropped calls and insufficient coverage.

“NCC has the right to sanction operators but individuals can also sue them in court in order to get redemption on their penalties over sub service charges,” said Muoka.

"The fact that NCC can sanction does not mean that NCC will prosecute the operators based on individual complaint but people can sue if they feel cheated and need a refund,” he said.

“The Act (that established the NCC) does not prohibit anybody from suing an operator who fails to render good services as required, you can sue the poor service operators or port to another network,” he said.

Muoka; though, noted that the Act establishing the NCC did not permit it to prosecute any service provider based on individual complaints.

He did say; though, that the commission had established a ‘Consumer Protection Department’ to address the issue of complaints from customers.

Omobola Johnson, minister of communication technology; Dupe Atoki, director-general of the Consumer Protection Council and Dr. Eugene Juwah, the executive vice- chairman of the NCC, had in 2013 threatened to sanction operators over poor services.

High demand on Nigeria’s mobile networks have put a strain on mobile networks.

Nigeria, with a total population of about 169 million, has over 100 million subscribers, making it Africa’s largest phone market.