​The Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has welcomed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, describing as a vital landmark the court’s explicit finding that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) remains the sole regulator empowered to issue licences in the telecommunications sector.

​Delivering judgment in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026, Hon. Justice A. L. Allagoa dismissed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) preliminary objection on jurisdiction, while affirming that the FCCPC lacks the statutory authority to act as a licensing body for telecom and Value-Added Services (VAS) operators under its Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 (DEON Regulations).

​Reacting to the decision in a statement signed by its Chairman of Regulatory and Partnership, Osa Umweni, WASPAN noted that while the court upheld the validity of the DEON Regulations strictly as they pertain to consumer protection, it drew a definitive legal boundary against regulatory overreach.

​WASPAN emphasized that the presiding judge confirmed that nothing in the DEON Regulations creates a telecommunications licensing regime, ruling that the consumer protection agency cannot by any instrument vest in itself the powers of a licensing authority over the telecom sector.

​”The Court confirmed that while the FCCPC holds statutory authority in respect of competition and consumer protection, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) remains the sole regulator responsible for licensing companies in the telecommunications sector,” WASPAN added.

​Clarifying the operational limits set by the court, the telecom body cautioned that any attempt by the FCCPC to cross into licensing territory going forward would be null and void.

​”The FCCPC may enforce the DEON Regulations in so far as they relate to consumer protection. It may not, under the cover of those Regulations or any other instrument, constitute itself as a licensing body for the telecommunications sector. Any attempt by the FCCPC to exercise licensing powers over WASPAN’s members will have no legal foundation, as affirmed by the Federal High Court today,” the statement read.

​WASPAN also faulted the FCCPC’s public account of the dispute, pointing out that the commission had previously referred to WASPAN and its members as a “desperate cartel” shortly after an interim injunction was granted against the agency in April 2026—a reaction WASPAN characterized as wholly inappropriate for a public institution.

​The association disclosed that it is currently reviewing the full judgment alongside its legal team, led by Kemi Pinheiro SAN of Pinheiro LP, to determine whether to appeal certain provisions of the DEON Regulations that it contends still exceed consumer protection bounds.

​”We accept this judgment with the same composure with which we approached the court proceedings—not as combatants seeking to obstruct regulation, but as a lawfully registered industry body asserting the right of our members to operate within a clearly defined and constitutionally compliant regulatory framework,” the association concluded.