The Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned till May 22, 2026, for the hearing of committal proceedings filed against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) over alleged disobedience of a court order.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Justice Ambrose-Lewis Allagoa fixed the date on Tuesday in a suit filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria Ltd/GTE against the FCCPC.
The case is connected to the controversial Digital Electronic Online and Non-Traditional Lending Regulations, whose enforcement had earlier been suspended by the court.
At the resumed proceedings, counsel for the plaintiff, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, accused the FCCPC of acting in contempt of the court despite a subsisting order restraining the implementation and enforcement of the regulations.
Pinheiro argued that the court must first protect its authority and sanctity before hearing the pending applications in the matter.
He told the court that the plaintiff had drawn the alleged acts of disobedience to the attention of the FCCPC’s counsel.
According to him, rather than advising compliance with the court order, the commission’s counsel allegedly justified the actions in a letter dated May 5, 2026.
Pinheiro said the FCCPC claimed in the letter that actions taken by telecommunications companies were independent business decisions and not connected to the Digital Electronic Online and Non-Traditional Lending Regulations.
Responding, counsel for the FCCPC, Funke Aboyade (SAN), argued that the matter listed for hearing was the commission’s preliminary objection alongside the originating summons.
She contended that the court could not proceed with the committal proceedings at that stage.
In his ruling, Justice Allagoa upheld the plaintiff’s position and held that the issue of alleged contempt should first be determined.
The judge said the court was inclined to hear the committal proceedings first in order to preserve the authority and sanctity of the court.
The court further stressed that its orders must be obeyed and “guarded jealously.”
Justice Allagoa added that no party had the liberty to disregard subsisting court orders, irrespective of any jurisdictional objection raised in the proceedings.
The matter was subsequently adjourned till May 22, 2026, for the commencement of the committal proceedings.