Nigerian Court Upholds Digital Lending Rules, Rejects FCCPC Telecom Licensing Authority

According to Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of Nigeria's Federal High Court on Monday, the court has upheld the validity of the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations 2025 but ruled that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) lacks authority to license telecommunications operators or oversee airtime lending, preserving these powers exclusively with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Airtime and data credit services are used by approximately 40 million Nigerians in a market worth between $217.4 million and $289.9 million annually, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). The court affirmed that regulatory "concurrency means coexistence, not displacement," establishing that the FCCPC's consumer protection powers operate alongside—not instead of—the NCC's statutory telecommunications responsibilities.