Airtime Lending Future Hangs in Balance as Court Set to Deliver Judgment in MTN, Glo, Airtel Regulatory Dispute
By Aboki Forex —
A Federal High Court in Lagos will deliver judgment on Monday in a landmark suit between WASPAN and the FCCPC over who regulates airtime lending services. More than 40 million Nigerians who rely on airtime borrowing services could know the future of one of the country's most widely used telecom products on Monday, July 20.
The Core Legal Dispute
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/760/2026, is expected to clarify whether the FCCPC can regulate telecommunications-based airtime and data lending services under its DEON Regulations 2025. The plaintiffs argue that oversight of such services rests exclusively with the Nigerian Communications Commission under the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Kemi Pinheiro filed the substantive suit on behalf of WASPAN and allied operators. They are asking the court to declare that the FCCPC exceeded its statutory powers by seeking to regulate telecom Value Added Services, including airtime and data lending. They are also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the FCCPC from enforcing the DEON Regulations against licensed telecom value-added service providers.
The operators further contend that the DEON framework was introduced without adequate consultation with industry stakeholders or proper coordination with the sector regulator.
What Is at Stake for Millions of Nigerians
Industry operators describe airtime credit as a financial lifeline for millions of Nigerians, particularly low-income earners, artisans, traders and small business owners who depend on emergency airtime credit to stay connected. ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo said the controversy demonstrated that airtime credit should not be viewed solely as a financial product.
He disclosed: 'What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterized it. It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy.'
According to ALTON, the enforcement of the DEON regulations threatened an ecosystem estimated to be worth between N300 billion and N400 billion annually, raising concerns over investor confidence and market stability.
How the Dispute Disrupted Services
Following the FCCPC's move to enforce compliance with the DEON Regulations, major mobile network operators including MTN, Airtel and Globacom suspended airtime borrowing services such as MTN XtraTime. The disruption lasted for about three months and temporarily denied roughly 40 million subscribers access to emergency airtime credit.
The suspension particularly affected traders, artisans, transport operators, dispatch riders and other Nigerians in the informal economy. Services were eventually restored after the court granted interim relief and enforcement of the regulations was suspended pending determination of the substantive suit.
The litigation also gave rise to contempt proceedings after WASPAN accused the FCCPC of violating an interim injunction granted by the court on April 15, 2026. Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa subsequently commenced committal proceedings against the commission.
FCCPC Defends Its Mandate
The FCCPC insists it is acting within the powers granted to it under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018. The commission argues that when subscribers borrow airtime through USSD codes and repay on subsequent recharges, the transactions constitute consumer micro-credit and therefore fall within its consumer protection mandate.
According to the FCCPC, the DEON Regulations were introduced to strengthen transparency, promote responsible lending practices, protect consumers from unfair terms and improve data privacy standards across digital lending platforms.
For the naira and Nigerian consumers, the judgment will determine whether millions of low-income Nigerians continue to have access to emergency airtime credit or face a regulated environment that could reshape how telecom operators offer these services.