WASPAN SEEKS INJUNCTION TO HALT FCCPC’S DEON RULES PENDING APPEAL

The legal tussle over the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations 2025 has entered a new phase, with the Wireless Application Service Providers

 Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) asking the Federal High Court in Lagos to halt enforcement of the regulations pending the determination of its appeal.

The fresh application comes days after the court dismissed WASPAN’s substantive suit challenging the DEON Regulations but made key pronouncements on the regulatory powers of the FCCPC and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa had dismissed the FCCPC’s preliminary objection, holding that WASPAN’s suit disclosed a reasonable cause of action and that the association had served the requisite pre-action notice on the commission.

The court further held that the association acted under a genuine apprehension and that, because the dispute centred on the interpretation of legislation rather than a claim for damages, any alleged failure to comply with the statutory pre-action notice requirement did not rob the court of jurisdiction.

On the substantive issues, however, the court held that Sections 104, 105, 106 and 163 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act empower the FCCPC to investigate anti-competitive conduct, protect consumers and make regulations.

It also ruled that there was no conflict between the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act and the Nigerian Communications Act, affirming that while the FCCPC exercises competition and consumer protection functions, the NCC remains the statutory regulator responsible for licensing operators in the telecommunications sector.

The court equally held that the FCCPC lacks the power to issue telecommunications licences, adding that “nothing in the DEON Regulations creates a telecommunication licensing.”

Having lost the substantive case, WASPAN has now filed a notice of appeal and is seeking an order preserving the status quo pending the determination of the appeal.

In a Motion on Notice before the court, the association prayed for “an order of injunction restraining the Defendant whether by itself, officers, employees, agents or such other persons howsoever named from enforcing, implementing and/or otherwise giving effect to the enforcement and/or implementation of the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025” pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

The association also asked the court to restrain the FCCPC from taking steps capable of disrupting services provided by its members under the disputed regulations.

Specifically, it sought an order restraining the commission “from taking any steps towards interfering with or preventing the Plaintiff’s members from providing or continuing to provide or deploy any services or product governed by the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025.”

It further urged the court to restrain the FCCPC “from imposing any sanction, penalty, punishment or fines on the Plaintiff’s members” over any alleged failure or refusal to comply with the regulations pending the outcome of the appeal.

The association argued that the interim orders were necessary to preserve the subject matter of the appeal and prevent actions that could render the appellate proceedings nugatory.

The latest application signals that despite the Federal High Court’s decision upholding the DEON Regulations, the broader legal contest over the scope of the FCCPC’s regulatory powers in Nigeria’s telecommunications ecosystem remains unresolved and is now headed for appellate determination.