A lawyer and public policy commentator, Ilemona Onoja, has questioned the legal basis for approvals granted by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to airtime credit providers under its Direct Emergency Operator Notification (DEON) Regulations following a Federal High Court judgment affirming that only the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has powers to license telecommunications operators.

Reacting to Monday’s judgment, Onoja said: “Regulating a market and licensing operators in it are fundamentally different powers.”

He noted that the court agreed that “the FCCPC can regulate conduct but cannot issue licences. The NCC remains the sole licensing authority.”

He added: “Which raises an obvious question. In April, FCCPC purportedly approved five firms to provide airtime credit services under the DEON framework. If the court has now held that the FCCPC lacks the power to issue licences, I am genuinely curious what the legal basis for those approvals was.”

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026, dismissed the suit filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) challenging the DEON Regulations.

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 in furtherance of its statutory mandate.

However, the judge drew a clear distinction between regulation and licensing, holding that the FCCPC lacks the power to issue telecommunications licences and that nothing in the DEON Regulations establishes a telecom licensing regime.

The court reaffirmed that the NCC remains the statutory authority responsible for licensing companies operating in the telecommunications sector.

The judgment has put renewed focus on the FCCPC’s approvals under the DEON framework. The Commission initially approved five firms to provide airtime and data credit services before subsequently expanding the list to nine operators.

The court also held that there was no conflict between the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act and the Nigerian Communications Act, ruling that both statutes operate within their respective spheres.

While the FCCPC retains responsibility for competition and consumer protection, the NCC remains solely responsible for licensing telecommunications operators.

The ruling is expected to shape future oversight of Nigeria’s airtime and data credit market, estimated at between ₦300 billion and ₦400 billion annually and relied upon by about 40 million subscribers, as stakeholders await further regulatory clarification on the implications of the judgment for firms approved under the DEON framework.