The Nigeria Internet Registration Association, the administrator of Nigeria's top-level domain, said it is gearing up to deliver judgment in the case of MTN's Nigerian Web site address, mtn.com.ng.

The address has already been registered by unidentified persons, and NiRA will honor that registration pending the determination of the case, said NiRA President Ndukwe Kalu.

NiRA will ensure that the right entity gets what actually belongs to it, Kalu assured during an interview last week at the sixth Annual CTO Forum in Abuja. NiRA's dispute resolution system does not provide room for fraudsters to hijack other people's domain names, he added.

NiRA had earlier released 14 policy documents to the Internet community for comment. One of the documents released, Kalu said, covers the association's policy on handling complaints regarding domain names, registrars and resellers of .ng second-level domains.

According to the document, complaints to NiRA may be submitted to the association through an online form on the association's Web site, by fax or by post. NiRA will resolve complaints as quickly as possible and keep the complainant informed of the progress, Kalu said.

On receipt of any complaint, as in the case of mtn.com.ng, NiRA requests a response from the registrant, registrar or reseller and investigates complaints based on the facts provided by all parties involved. NiRA may place a registry server lock on the domain name in question in order to preserve the status quo while an investigation is pending, Kalu noted.

MTN Nigeria has already responded to NiRA's query, he said, and the association is awaiting response from the other party before it can make its decision on mtn.com.ng.

"After conducting a full investigation, NiRA will notify the complainant in writing of the outcome of complaint and, if relevant, of any other courses of action available to the complainant," Kalu said.

NiRA's jurisdiction is limited to complaints regarding .ng domain space, Kalu explained. Therefore, the association cannot handle complaints regarding generic top-level domains (such as .com, .net, .biz, or .info); other country's top-level domains (such as .nz or .uk); Web hosting, Web site management or Web site design services; Internet access or e-mail services; or breaches of Nigerian law relating to IT, telecommunications, broadcasting or unfair business practices. For complaints related to these matters, the public should contact the relevant government authorities, he said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.