Trending 
The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) authority to investigate customer complaints against banks.
The presiding judge, James Omotosho, held that the commission has statutory powers to handle consumer protection issues that involve financial institutions. According to an FCCPC statement on Wednesday, April 22 2026, the court dismissed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1972/2025 in its entirety and fined United Bank of Africa (UBA) N2 million for filing what it described as a frivolous and unmeritorious case.
Earlier, UBA had requested the court’s interpretation on whether the commission could validly exercise jurisdiction over a commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), citing provisions of the constitution and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
Omotosho ruled that the FCCPC’s mandate in matters relating to consumer protection and competition covers the banking sector. “The FCCPC (defendant) is therefore the proper agency to investigate such consumer complaints,” the judge held. The Judge added that no provision in BOFIA or the Central Bank of Nigeria Act gives exclusive responsibility for investigating consumer complaints to the CBN.
Furthermore, the judge pointed out relevant sections of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, noting that the law empowers the commission to enforce consumer protection standards across sectors.
The court referenced section 104 of the FCCPA, saying, “Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law but subject to the provisions of the constitution, in all matters relating to competition and consumer protection, the provisions of this Act shall override the provisions of any other law.”
