By Progress Godfrey

ABUJA — Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has commended the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI) for organising a strategic judicial training programme aimed at strengthening judges’ capacity to adjudicate competition and consumer protection cases.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day training in Abuja on Tuesday, the CJN said the programme reflects a shared commitment to improving judicial competence in areas of law that are becoming increasingly important to economic governance and public welfare.

She said: “This training exemplifies the collaborative spirit that underpins the Institute’s programmes and reflects our shared commitment to strengthening judicial capacity in areas of law that are both emergent and increasingly consequential to economic governance and public welfare.”

She added that the FCCPC plays a central role in protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s marketplace and promoting fair competition across key sectors of the economy.

According to her, competition regulation is essential for maintaining transparent and efficient markets while protecting consumers from exploitative practices. She added that dialogue and knowledge exchange between regulators and the judiciary are therefore indispensable. 

“The competition mandate of the Commission is directed at promoting fair, transparent, and efficient market structures that encourage innovation, productivity, and sustainable economic growth. At the same time, its consumer protection mandate ensures that individuals are shielded from exploitative practices across critical sectors of the economy, including the financial services sector, telecommunications, transportation, energy, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. Given the breadth and importance of this mandate, the FCCPC necessarily occupies a strategic institutional space that requires vigilance, integrity, and proactive engagement with key stakeholders,” the CJN said.

She also highlighted emerging challenges facing regulators and courts, particularly those linked to digital markets, artificial intelligence and evolving commercial practices.

Earlier in his remarks, Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello,

said the courts play a central role in shaping Nigeria’s competition and consumer protection regime through their interpretation of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018.

Bello noted that modern markets are becoming increasingly complex due to technological innovation, digital commerce and cross-border transactions, which continue to reshape how markets operate.

He said disputes arising from evolving market practices often involve complex records, economic evidence, and questions about how competition law interacts with sector-specific regulations.

“Competition and consumer protection law often finds its most practical expression in the courtroom. It is there that the legal principles governing markets are tested, clarified and given authoritative interpretation. As the implementation of this framework continues to evolve, the role of the courts in interpreting its provisions remains central to the development of coherent and predictable competition jurisprudence in Nigeria,” Bello said.

Also speaking, Administrator of the NJI, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, said the judiciary now operates in a rapidly changing economic environment where commercial disputes are becoming more technical. He added that the judiciary, as the final arbiter of disputes, invariably stands at the intersection of these developments.