Millions of telecom subscribers in Nigeria could once again lose access to airtime lending services after a Federal High Court in Lagos upheld the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON Regulations).
With the ruling, telecommunications operators, including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria and Globacom, are expected to resume the suspension of airtime and data lending services after previously restoring them following an earlier court order.
Justice A.L. Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, delivered the judgment on Monday in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026 filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria Ltd/Gte (WASPAN).
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the court dismissed the suit in its entirety, rejected all the reliefs sought by the association and upheld the validity of the FCCPC’s DEON Regulations.
It ruled that the regulations were made within the commission’s statutory and constitutional powers and also discharged the interim ex parte order that had prevented the FCCPC from implementing and enforcing the regulations.
With the judgment, the FCCPC announced that it has resumed full implementation and enforcement of the regulations, saying the legal obstacle that led to its earlier suspension had now been removed.
WASPAN had challenged the FCCPC’s authority to regulate digital consumer lending, arguing that aspects of the regulations affected the operation of airtime and data lending services. After the court issued an interim order in April 2026, the commission suspended implementation of the regulations, prompting telecom operators to restore airtime lending services to millions of subscribers across the country.
Reacting to Monday’s judgment, the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, said the commission would immediately resume enforcement of the regulations.
“The Commission has always maintained that the rule of law is fundamental to effective regulation and good governance. When the Court issued its interim order, we immediately suspended implementation of the Regulations in full compliance with the Court’s directive. Now that the Court has affirmed the validity of the DEON Regulations and delivered judgment in favour of the Commission, we will continue to discharge our statutory responsibilities faithfully, professionally and in accordance with the law,” he said.
He added that, “The DEON Regulations are designed to promote responsible lending, improve regulatory accountability, curb unfair and exploitative practices, and strengthen consumer protection in Nigeria’s digital lending market. Our objective has always been to ensure that innovation and financial inclusion flourish within a transparent, fair and accountable regulatory framework that inspires confidence among consumers, investors and responsible operators alike.”
The judgment is expected to revive the regulatory dispute that previously forced operators to suspend airtime lending, a service relied upon by an estimated 40 million Nigerians.
The service, valued at between ₦300 billion and ₦400 billion annually, allows subscribers to borrow airtime and data during emergencies and has become particularly important for traders, artisans, small business owners and other low-income earners who depend on uninterrupted mobile connectivity.
Before the court’s earlier interim order, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) warned that suspending airtime lending would negatively affect millions of subscribers.
ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, had argued that airtime credit had evolved beyond a conventional telecommunications service.
“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it. It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy,” Adebayo said.
He also warned that the disruption raised wider concerns about consumer welfare, investor confidence and regulatory certainty.
WASPAN had maintained that its court action was intended to protect licensed Nigerian operators and millions of subscribers who depend on airtime and data advances, insisting that the services are essential for people with limited access to conventional credit.
The latest court decision comes weeks after President Bola Tinubu reportedly directed the FCCPC to dismantle the long-standing dominance of South African technology firm Optasia, formerly known as Channel VAS, in Nigeria’s airtime credit and data lending market. The directive seeks to open the sector to indigenous financial technology companies as part of broader efforts to strengthen local participation in the country’s digital financial services industry.
