Judges halt telecom crackdown, order MTN, Airtel to keep airtime credit services

Two Federal High Courts have ordered MTN Nigeria and Airtel Networks to halt enforcement actions that led to the suspension of airtime and data credit services used by millions of Nigerian prepaid subscribers.

In Abuja, the Federal High Court on April 24 issued an interim injunction restraining MTN and Airtel from suspending, restricting, or otherwise interfering with services provided to Nairtime Nigeria Limited — a licensed Value Added Service provider — pending the determination of a substantive suit.

A similar order was issued by the Lagos Federal High Court on April 15, barring the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission from enforcing provisions of the same regulations against the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria.

Both rulings centre on the FCCPC’s Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 — known as the DEON Regulations — which the commission introduced in July 2025 to extend a licensing regime to cover digital and non-traditional consumer lending, including airtime credit services. Compliance deadlines were extended twice before the commission commenced enforcement in April, prompting the operators to suspend services.

MTN’s XtraTime and Airtel’s data credit offerings were pulled in mid-April, leaving millions of subscribers without access to short-term airtime borrowing — a service that industry analysts describe as a critical informal microcredit system, particularly for small businesses, artisans, and low-income earners dependent on mobile connectivity. Industry estimates put the annual value of airtime lending transactions at between N500 billion and N1.2 trillion.

In the Abuja ruling, the court held that the telecom operators could not set aside agreed contractual notice periods and dispute-resolution mechanisms in a bid to comply with the new regulations. The Lagos court, presided over by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, went further, barring the FCCPC from implementing specific provisions of the DEON Regulations or imposing sanctions on service providers pending an interlocutory hearing.

The plaintiffs in both cases argue that the FCCPC exceeded its statutory mandate, contending that services delivered over telecom infrastructure licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission fall under the regulatory purview of the telecoms regulator, not the consumer protection commission, under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

The FCCPC has denied banning airtime credit services, insisting that the suspensions were commercial decisions taken by the operators themselves. The association has urged the commission to comply with the court orders and engage stakeholders to resolve the regulatory dispute.

Both matters have been adjourned for interlocutory hearings.