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The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, will on Monday, July 20, deliver judgment in a landmark case that could determine the future regulation of airtime and data lending services used by more than 40 million telecom subscribers across Nigeria.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa is expected to decide whether the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) or the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has the legal authority to regulate airtime lending services.
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/760/2026, was instituted by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN), challenging the FCCPC's Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations 2025.
Through its counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), WASPAN argued that the FCCPC exceeded its statutory powers by seeking to regulate telecommunications-based Value Added Services, including airtime and data lending, which it maintained fall exclusively under the regulatory jurisdiction of the NCC as provided by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
The association asked the court to invalidate the DEON Regulations 2025 as they relate to its members and to restrain the FCCPC permanently from enforcing the regulations or interfering with the operations of telecom service providers.
WASPAN further contended that the regulations were introduced without adequate consultation with industry stakeholders, coordination with the NCC, or the mandatory Regulatory Impact Assessment.
The legal dispute followed the FCCPC's enforcement of the DEON framework, which prompted major telecom operators, including MTN, Airtel and Globacom, to suspend airtime lending services nationwide, temporarily denying millions of subscribers access to emergency airtime and data credit.
Following an interim order by the court restraining the FCCPC from enforcing the regulations, the commission suspended enforcement while telecom operators restored the services.
The case also triggered contempt proceedings after Justice Lewis-Allagoa issued a Form 45 Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order against FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman, Tunji Bello, over an alleged breach of the interim injunction. The commission, however, maintained that it complied fully with the court's directive.
Supporting WASPAN's position, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) argued that airtime credit is not a conventional loan but an essential telecommunications service. Its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, warned that the FCCPC's regulatory action could destabilise an industry valued at between ₦300 billion and ₦400 billion annually and weaken investor confidence.
The FCCPC, however, maintained that airtime borrowing qualifies as a consumer microloan under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018. It said the DEON Regulations were designed to protect consumers by promoting transparency, safeguarding personal data and curbing exploitative lending practices in Nigeria's digital lending ecosystem.
The court's judgment is expected to provide legal clarity on the regulatory framework governing airtime lending and could shape the future of digital credit services in the country's telecommunications sector.
