NIGERIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Chiagozie Hilary-Nwokonko and Chukwuyere Ebere Izuogu, Streamsowers & Köhn
Federal High Court Affirms FCCPC’s Regulatory Authority in the Communications Sector In the recent decision of Emeka Nnubia v. Hon - ourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Invest - ment & Others (Suit No FHC/L/CS/1009/2024), the Federal High Court affirmed the authority of the FCCPC to enforce competition and con - sumer protection laws within the telecommuni - cations sector. The judgment clarified that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) does not possess exclusive jurisdiction over competition matters in the sector. This ruling reinforces the FCCPC’s concurrent regulatory mandate, including its role in reviewing mergers occurring in the communications sector. Significantly, the Court confirmed the FCCPC’s status as Nigeria’s lead competition authority, with a statutory mandate to regulate competi - tion across all sectors of the economy. The only exception to this broad jurisdiction is the financial services sector. Section 65 (1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 (BOFIA) expressly limits the FCCPC’s authority in this area, transferring responsibility for com - petition and consumer protection enforcement within the financial services market to the Cen - tral Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Furthermore, section 65 (3) of BOFIA vests the CBN with exclusive powers over mergers and competition matters in the financial sector. Outside the financial ser - vices sector, qualifying mergers that meet the applicable jurisdictional thresholds must be noti - fied to the FCCPC, even where sector-specific regulators possess concurrent merger review or competition enforcement powers. Despite the jurisdictional delineation established by law and confirmed by the Court, there has been demonstrable cooperation between the FCCPC and other key sector-specific regula -
tors – such as the CBN, the National Broad - casting Commission (NBC), the National Insur - ance Commission (NAICOM), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Since 2024, several merger reviews and enforcement actions across these sectors reflect a growing synergy among regulators. This inter-agency collaboration has contributed to regulatory certainty, more efficient approval timelines, and a reduction in the risk of conflict - ing decisions in complex, multi-regulated trans - actions. Enforcement and Penalties While not merger-related, the FCCPC demon - strated a more assertive enforcement posture in 2024 by pursuing an enforcement proceed - ing in Nigeria’s digital market. On 19 July 2024, FCCPC imposed an administrative penalty of USD220 million on Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta), the parent company of WhatsApp LLC (What - sApp), for violations of the FCCPA and the now- repealed Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, 2019 (NDPR). According to the FCCPC’s inves - tigation report, which formed the basis of the sanction, several key findings were made: • WhatsApp’s privacy policy was not compli - ant with the provisions of the NDPR, thereby preventing consumers (data subjects) from providing valid and informed consent as required by law; • WhatsApp engaged in the excessive process - ing of personal data in contravention of the data minimisation principle under the NDPR; and • WhatsApp’s unlawful processing of personal data amounted to an abuse of its dominant position in the market for contact-based instant messaging services.
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