ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has resumed the implementation and enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON Regulations), following a Federal High Court judgment affirming the validity of the framework.
The Commission announced the development in a statement posted on its official X handle on Monday, July 20, confirming that the enforcement action follows a judgment delivered by Justice A.L. Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026 filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria Ltd/Gte (WASPAN).
The court dismissed the plaintiff’s originating summons in its entirety, rejected all the reliefs sought, and upheld the validity of the DEON Regulations, ruling that they were enacted within the Commission’s statutory and constitutional powers. The judgment clears the legal hurdle that had temporarily halted the FCCPC’s oversight of the digital lending sector.
The DEON Consumer Lending Regulation, issued in July 2025, was established to address longstanding consumer complaints including exploitative practices, data privacy violations, abusive loan recovery tactics, harassment, and anti-competitive behaviour by certain digital lenders and their partners within Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital credit market. The Regulations, made pursuant to Sections 17, 18, and 163 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (2018), mandates transparency, fairness, responsible conduct, data privacy, and accessible redress mechanisms.
Under the framework, all digital lenders must register with the FCCPC and meet consumer protection, data compliance, and transparency standards. Non-compliant operators face sanctions, which may include fines of up to ₦100 million or 1% of turnover, as well as potential disqualification of directors for up to five years. The Regulations also prohibit pre-authorised or automatic lending, compel clear and accessible loan terms, ban unethical marketing, and mandate local ownership of at least one service provider for airtime and data lending services.
The FCCPC had earlier suspended implementation and enforcement of the regulations in April 2026 following the court’s interim order, complying fully with the judicial directive. The Commission had also previously set January 5, 2026, as the deadline for full compliance, warning that enforcement would begin immediately after the deadline, with measures including restricting non-compliant entities from operating and directing partners or platforms to cease dealing with them.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tunji Bello, welcomed the court’s decision, reiterating that the rule of law remains fundamental to effective regulation and good governance. “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,” Bello said.
The FCCPC has urged all current and intending providers of digital lending services, including Mobile Money Operators, Digital Money Lenders, and service partners, to visit www.fccpc.gov.ng for application forms, guidelines, and compliance requirements. Consumers are advised to report unlawful or unregistered lenders, unfair interest rates, or privacy violations to the Commission through its complaint portal: lenderstaskforce@fccpc.gov.ng.
The resumption of enforcement marks a significant step in regulating Nigeria’s digital lending sector, which has grown rapidly in recent years, providing millions of Nigerians with access to credit but also exposing them to exploitative practices. The FCCPC has previously noted that in the telecom sector, some operators engaged in exclusionary third-party technical arrangements in clear disobedience to the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, and that the Regulations sought to unlock the market to allow local participants alongside foreign partners, in line with free market principles.
