Court Backs FCCPC’s Oversight Of Airtime Lending

 

 

The Federal High Court in Lagos has affirmed the powers of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to regulate Nigeria’s digital consumer lending market, including airtime and data credit services, in a ruling with significant implications for the country’s estimated ₦400 billion airtime lending industry.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, in a judgment delivered on Monday, dismissed a suit filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN), which sought to invalidate the FCCPC’s Digital, Electronic, Online and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations.

The court held that the FCCPC acted within its constitutional and statutory powers in issuing the regulations, ruling that the Commission’s authority over competition and consumer protection extends across all sectors of the economy, including digital lending services.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa also held that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act takes precedence in competition and consumer protection matters, while sector regulators such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) retain responsibility for licensing, technical and prudential regulation.

The judge stressed that the roles of the FCCPC and the NCC are complementary rather than conflicting, describing their relationship as one of “coexistence, not displacement.”

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He added that the DEON Regulations are consumer protection measures and do not usurp the NCC’s licensing powers under the Nigerian Communications Act.

Although the court declined the FCCPC’s preliminary objection challenging its jurisdiction, it resolved all the substantive issues in favour of the Commission, refusing every declaration and relief sought by WASPAN.

The court also vacated the interim injunctions earlier granted in April, which had restrained the enforcement of the regulations, holding that the basis for those orders no longer existed after the dismissal of the substantive suit.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa further observed that a statutory regulator should not ordinarily be prevented from carrying out its lawful duties.

The suit followed the FCCPC’s introduction of the DEON Regulations as part of efforts to strengthen oversight of Nigeria’s fast-growing digital lending sector amid rising concerns over consumer protection, unfair lending practices and anti-competitive conduct.

The ruling now clears the way for the Commission to enforce the regulations across the digital lending ecosystem, including providers of airtime and data credit services.

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