The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) does not have the authority to issue licences but may regulate airtime and data credit services alongside the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Delivering judgment on Monday in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa held that the DEON Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 fall within the FCCPC’s statutory and constitutional powers.
The judge explained that the FCCPC’s role complements, rather than replaces, that of sector-specific regulators such as the NCC, stressing that the two agencies have concurrent responsibilities. According to the court, “concurrency means coexistence, not displacement.”
The judgment reaffirmed the FCCPC’s mandate over competition and consumer protection matters under Sections 104 and 105 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, while preserving the NCC’s exclusive responsibilities for technical regulation, licensing, and prudential oversight under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa further ruled that the FCCPC has no statutory power to issue telecommunications licences, noting that the DEON Regulations do not establish a licensing regime for telecom operators. The court maintained that the NCC remains the sole authority empowered to license entities operating within Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
In April 2026, the FCCPC approved five companies to operate as airtime and data credit providers under the DEON framework. The court’s ruling has now raised questions about the legal basis on which those approvals were granted.
The judgment is regarded as the first judicial interpretation clarifying the respective regulatory roles of the FCCPC and the NCC in overseeing Nigeria’s airtime and data credit market, an industry estimated to be worth between ₦300 billion and ₦400 billion annually and used by about 40 million Nigerians every day.
Reacting to the ruling, Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), welcomed the court’s decision, describing it as one that provides much-needed regulatory clarity.
Adebayo said, “The court has done something important. It has confirmed the FCCPC’s authority and, in the same breath, affirmed that the NCC’s role is preserved.
Concurrency means coexistence. The industry now expects both regulators to establish the coordination framework that the court’s reasoning requires.”
Adebayo urged the FCCPC and the NCC to hold formal consultations with industry stakeholders before implementing any enforcement measures. He noted that airtime credit services had been suspended for three months earlier this year following a regulatory directive and were only recently reinstated.
He noted that the judgment is likely to become a landmark decision in clarifying the relationship between the FCCPC and sector-specific regulators, particularly as the rapid growth of digital products and services continues to create overlapping areas of regulatory oversight.
