Following successive Federal High Court rulings in Abuja and Lagos that limited enforcement proceedings related to digital lending legislation, millions of Nigerian telecom users may soon be able to utilize airtime and data credit services again.
In a decision rendered on April 24, 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja prohibited the telecom companies MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Networks Limited from halting or limiting services offered to Nairtime Nigeria Limited while a substantive lawsuit contesting regulatory actions related to digital lending operations was being decided.
The interim order, which was included in a Certified True Copy that was acquired on Tuesday, came after Nairtime Holdings Limited and Nairtime Nigeria Limited filed an ex parte application with the court, claiming that the telecom operators had threatened to disrupt their business operations.
The plaintiffs in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/779/2026 contended that the defendants planned to stop, suspend, or otherwise obstruct their access to telecommunications platforms, such as USSD channels, SMS, short codes, and billing services.
They said that the proposed move was predicated on guidelines purportedly derived from the 2025 Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations.
The plaintiffs, who are licensed Value Added Service providers operating under legitimate permissions provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission, argued that such measures would constitute unlawful interference with their contractual rights and commercial operations.
They further claimed that no legitimate notice of breach had been given by the defendants and that they had fulfilled their contractual duties.
“Interim Injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd Defendants/Respondents, whether by themselves, their officers, servants, agents, or privies, from suspending, restricting, discontinuing, or otherwise interfering with the access of the 2nd Plaintiff to their platforms, channels, short codes, SMS, USSD, billing services, and other telecommunications-enabled services and operations during the subsistence of the 2nd Plaintiff’s valid license issued by the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s DEON Regulations.”
In an effort to comply with new regulatory guidelines, the court additionally ruled that telecom operators may not disregard established contractual notice periods and dispute-resolution procedures.
Access to platforms, channels, short codes, SMS, USSD services, and other telecommunications-enabled operations that Nairtime Nigeria Limited uses to provide its airtime advance and digital lending services is particularly covered by the order.
The court noted that the second plaintiff still had a valid license and ordered that the status quo be preserved while the substantive complaint was being decided.
In a similar vein, the Federal High Court in Lagos issued interim orders on April 15, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/720/2026, prohibiting the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the defendant in the case, from enforcing the same lending regulations against the plaintiff, the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria.
Under the direction of Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, the Lagos court prohibited the commission from enforcing important regulations, assessing penalties, or taking actions that would prevent service providers from carrying on with their business while an interlocutory injunction was being heard.
The judge held, “An Order of Interim Injunction is granted pending the hearing and final determination of the Motion for Interlocutory Injunction restraining the Defendant, whether by itself, officers, employees, agents, or such other persons howsoever named, from enforcing, implementing and/or otherwise giving effect to the enforcement and/or implementation of the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 (‘The DEON Consumer Lending Regulations’) or otherwise giving effect to the enforcement and/or implementation of paragraphs 3, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 24, 27, 29 and 32 of the said regulations.”
“That an Order of Interim Injunction is granted pending the hearing and final determination of the Motion for Interlocutory Injunction restraining the Defendant, whether by itself, officers, employees, agents, or such other persons howsoever named, from taking any steps towards interfering with or preventing the Plaintiff’s members from providing or continuing to provide or deploy any services or product governed by the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 (‘The DEON Consumer Lending Regulations’).”
Due to compliance requirements under the new regulatory framework established by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, airtime credit services, such as MTN’s XtraTime and Airtel’s data credit products, were banned in mid-April.
Millions of prepaid users who depend on airtime borrowing as a type of short-term credit were impacted by the disruption, which happened without warning or a clear schedule for restoration.
In July 2025, the commission unveiled the DEON Regulations, which expanded a licensing framework to include non-traditional and digital consumer financing, such as airtime and data credit services. Operators suspended services due to regulatory uncertainty after compliance deadlines were extended twice before enforcement actions started in April.
However, industry stakeholders, such as the association and the plaintiffs, argue that the commission went beyond its statutory mandate, claiming that services provided over telecom infrastructure licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission fall under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003’s regulatory jurisdiction.
According to industry estimates, airtime lending operations are worth between N500 billion and N1.2 trillion annually, mostly due to demand from the unorganized sector. According to analysts, the services serve as a vital microcredit system that helps low-income workers, craftsmen, and small companies that depend on mobile connectivity.
The FCCPC has insisted that the suspensions were business choices made by the carriers and has maintained that it did not outlaw airtime credit services.
However, in order to break the regulatory deadlock, the association has urged the commission to abide by current court rulings and include stakeholders. For an interlocutory hearing, both cases have been postponed.
