Nigeria Court Clarifies FCCPC vs NCC Roles in Airtime Credit Market

The Federal High Court in Lagos delivered a judgment (Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026) that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) does not have statutory authority to issue operating licences for airtime and data‑credit services. The court affirmed that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) remains the sole regulator empowered to grant such licences.

At the same time, Justice Ambrose Lewis‑Allagoa confirmed that the FCCPC’s powers to regulate competition, protect consumers and enforce the Digital, Electronic, Online and Non‑Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations are intra vires and constitutionally valid. The ruling stresses that the FCCPC’s regulatory remit complements, rather than displaces, the technical licensing duties of the NCC.

The decision follows a suit by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) challenging the FCCPC’s role in the country’s estimated N400 billion airtime credit market. It may prompt renewed scrutiny of the five firms approved earlier in 2026 under the DEON framework—Total Tim Nigeria Ltd, Rane Interactive Medien CLS Ltd, Mode NG Applications Ltd, Cloud Interactive Associate Ltd and Coverage Broadband Ltd—as their operating authorisations were based on FCCPC approvals.