The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has hailed the Federal High Court ruling over the Commission’s authority to regulate competition and consumer protection across all sectors, including telecommunications.
The case was instituted by Emeka Nnubia, a shareholder of MTN and a legal practitioner, who sought to halt the FCCPC’s investigation into MTN Nigeria on the grounds that such investigation could violate data protection laws, among other deleterious effects.
In a statement in Abuja on Sunday – yesterday, February 9 – Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, Director, Corporate Affairs of FCCPC, said the ruling reinforced the Commission’s mandate as the primary authority responsible for preventing anti-competitive practices and protecting consumers in Nigeria.
Ijagwu said the mandate is in line with Sections 17 and 18 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.
He said Nnubia argued that the FCCPC’s inquiry into MTN could violate data protection laws and that regulatory authority over MTN resided with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) rather than the FCCPC.
He said the ruling clarified that Section 90 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which granted NCC jurisdiction over competition matters within the telecommunications industry, must be read alongside Section 104 of the FCCPA 2018.
Section 104 of the FCCPA established FCCPC as the primary regulatory authority on competition and consumer protection across all sectors.
The ruling also confirmed that FCCPC acted within its statutory powers in issuing a summons to MTN Nigeria as part of its ongoing inquiry into potential anti-competitive practices.
“The Summons and Request to Produce was found to be lawful and within the scope of FCCPC’s investigative powers.
”In addition, the court held that the FCCPC’s request for information from MTN did not violate any data protection laws, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and the NCA 2003,” he said.
Ijagwu said the approach aligned with global best practices, where consumer protection regulators collaborated with industry-specific regulators.
The FCCPC had in Dec, 2024, inaugurated a major inquiry into widespread consumer complaints against leading players in the banking, telecommunications, and aviation sectors.
MTN Nigeria was engaged for persistent complaints of undelivered data services, unexplained data depletion, and inadequate customer care.
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