The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria has committed to deepen ethics and compliance within the advertising sector.
It stated this at a town hall meeting held recently in Lagos in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association and the Lawyers in the Media Forum.
At the meeting, it reiterated its commitment to promoting ethical standards, compliance, and accountability in the nation’s advertising industry.
Participants at the forum included regulators, legal experts, and industry leaders who discussed the evolution of Nigeria’s advertising ecosystem and the role of the Advertising Offences Tribunal in ensuring responsible communication in the digital age.
In her opening address, the Chairman of the Advertising Offences Tribunal, Cecilia Olatoregun (retd), said the AOT was established to enforce compliance.
Ensure ethical practice, and address the rising cases of misinformation and non-compliance within the advertising space.
She noted that the Nigerian advertising industry had evolved from traditional media to a multi-channel digital economy, creating a need for stronger oversight and a more coordinated regulatory framework.
The Director-General of ARCON, Olalekan Fadolapo, during the panel session, emphasised the impact of digital transformation on advertising practices, noting that e-commerce and cross-border marketing had redefined the regulatory landscape.
He said: “We now operate in a borderless advertising world. This reality demands that we strengthen cross-border compliance and collaboration.”
Other panellists included the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe; Director-General of the Centre for Media Law and Development, Charles Odenigbo; and Chairman of the Heads of Advertising Sectoral Groups, Lanre Adisa.
They discussed the need for a balance between creative freedom and regulatory compliance, stressing that industry players must understand the legal and ethical limits of their work, especially in digital advertising.
In his keynote address, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Akinlolu Kehinde, described the Advertising Offences Tribunal as “a bold experiment in regulatory governance and the world’s first judicial tribunal with criminal jurisdiction over advertising offences.”
He said the tribunal was established to address four key issues: jurisdictional gaps, weak enforcement, slow court processes, and the lack of industry-specific expertise in resolving advertising-related disputes.
Kehinde added that the tribunal’s work had helped protect consumers, enhance compliance culture, and safeguard industry integrity by ensuring fair competition and deterring false or misleading advertising.
