The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has clarified that its decision to suspend the implementation and enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 (DEON Regulations) was made in compliance with a Federal High Court order.

The clarification comes amid the gradual restoration of airtime and data credit services by telecommunications operators across Nigeria after weeks of disruption that affected millions of subscribers.

In a statement signed by the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the Commission said it was compelled to halt enforcement of the regulations following an ex parte order issued by the Federal High Court in Lagos.

According to the Commission, the court order restrained the implementation of the DEON Regulations pending the determination of legal proceedings challenging the framework.

“The Commission has since been served with an ex parte order of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos restraining and suspending the implementation of the regulations,” the statement said.

“As a law-abiding institution, the Commission, in deference and obedience to the rule of law, hereby suspends the implementation and enforcement of the DEON Regulations 2025,” the statement added.

The regulations are being challenged by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026.

Despite suspending enforcement, the FCCPC maintained that it would continue to contest both the court order and the legal basis of the suit.

“The Commission has also instructed its solicitors to challenge the order and the competence of the suit,” the statement added.

The development has been welcomed by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), which described the FCCPC’s action as a positive step toward restoring regulatory certainty and investor confidence in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.

ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, commended the Commission for what he described as a responsible decision taken in the interest of consumers and industry stakeholders.

According to him, suspending the regulations as they relate to telecommunications services acknowledges the existing regulatory structure, where the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) serves as the primary regulator of telecom products and services.

“That recognition matters enormously for industry stability and investor confidence,” Adebayo said.

The controversy surrounding the DEON Regulations disrupted airtime and data credit services used by an estimated 40 million Nigerians, particularly low-income and prepaid subscribers who depend on airtime advances for connectivity.

Industry estimates value Nigeria’s airtime credit market at between N300 billion and N400 billion annually.

The market effectively shut down in April after major telecommunications operators, including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and T2mobile, suspended airtime credit services following an FCCPC directive requiring immediate compliance with the DEON framework.

The FCCPC had classified airtime credit services as consumer lending products, bringing them under regulations originally designed to address concerns associated with digital lending applications.

That classification sparked a jurisdictional dispute with the NCC, which regulates telecommunications services under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

The legal battle escalated when the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an interim injunction on April 15 restraining the FCCPC from enforcing the regulations against WASPAN members.

A separate Federal High Court order issued in Abuja on April 24 also restrained MTN and Airtel from interfering with licensed value-added service providers’ access to telecom platforms.

Subsequently, the FCCPC’s effort to overturn the Lagos injunction was unsuccessful.

Following the court decisions and regulatory developments, Airtel became the first major operator to restore airtime credit services, with Globacom following shortly afterwards.

Adebayo said the episode underscored the importance of airtime credit services to Nigeria’s economy.

“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it. It is economic infrastructure relied upon by approximately 40 million Nigerians, most of whom are at the lower end of the economic ladder,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the remaining operators would soon restore services.

“The regulatory environment is now clear, and we are confident that full restoration is imminent. The courts have spoken, the FCCPC has acted responsibly, and two of the four major operators have already restored services,” Adebayo stated.

Attention has now shifted to MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest mobile network operator with more than 95 million subscribers, which has yet to resume its airtime advance service.

Explaining the company’s position, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, Tobechukwu Okigbo, said the company still requires additional legal certainty before restoring the service.

He noted that MTN would require either a court ruling setting aside the regulations that empower the FCCPC to license such services or a clear directive instructing operators to reinstate airtime advance offerings.

Industry analysts say that with Airtel and Globacom already back in the market, pressure is mounting on MTN to restore access for millions of subscribers who continue to rely on airtime credit services.

Looking ahead, ALTON called for stronger collaboration between the FCCPC and the NCC to prevent future regulatory disputes affecting consumers and businesses.

Adebayo stressed the need for formal coordination mechanisms between agencies overseeing telecommunications and consumer protection.

“The FCCPC’s consumer protection mandate and the NCC’s telecom regulatory mandate can coexist without either displacing the other. We are ready to participate in that conversation and urge both agencies to begin it without delay,” he said.
By Francis Iwuchukwu
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