The Federal High Court in Abuja has again upheld the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s authority to investigate consumer complaints about airline ticket pricing, dismissing a second suit filed by Air Peace challenging the commission’s power to look into sharp increases in domestic airfares.
In a judgment delivered June 29, Justice B.F.M. Nyako held that the FCCPC acted within its powers under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 when it sought information from Air Peace after widespread passenger complaints about steep ticket price increases, ruling that the commission’s investigative mandate is entirely separate from its statutory authority to regulate prices, and that seeking information in response to consumer complaints simply does not amount to price control. The ruling marks the second judicial defeat for Air Peace on this issue, following an April dismissal by Justice James Omotosho of a similar suit, in which the judge described as unreasonable the airline’s argument that the FCCPC lacked power to investigate consumer complaints or issue summons in carrying out its statutory duties.
The latest case traced back to the commission’s January 2025 request for information after passengers complained about significant ticket price increases on some domestic routes during the 2024 Christmas season. Air Peace had argued the FCCPC could not investigate airfare pricing unless the president first invoked the price regulation provisions in Sections 88 to 90 of the Act, and sought court orders blocking the commission’s probe. Justice Nyako rejected that argument, holding that the commission lawfully exercised its investigative powers under Sections 17, 32 and 33 of the Act, and that requesting information from the airline was part of a legitimate fact finding process that did not amount to fixing fares, prescribing a pricing formula, compelling a fare reduction or declaring the airline’s prices unlawful. Accepting Air Peace’s interpretation, the court found, would effectively strip the commission of its ability to investigate pricing complaints unless the president first activated the Act’s price regulation provisions, an outcome that would undermine the commission’s statutory investigative mandate and could not have been what lawmakers intended.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman Tunji Bello, reacting through a statement from Director of Corporate Affairs Ondaje Ijagwu, called the ruling another important judicial affirmation of the commission’s responsibility to investigate market conduct wherever there are reasonable grounds to believe consumers or competition may be adversely affected, stressing that the commission neither sought to fix nor regulate Air Peace’s fares but simply exercised its lawful authority to gather information as part of investigating a legitimate consumer concern. An investigation is a fact finding process, Bello said, not a finding of liability or an enforcement action, and every responsible regulator must be able to look into credible complaints affecting consumers and markets without those inquiries being mistaken for findings of liability, enforcement action or price regulation. He said the judgment provides much needed clarity on the scope of the commission’s investigative powers while confirming that statutory price regulation remains governed by its own separate legal framework, and reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to carrying out its statutory responsibilities fairly, transparently and in line with the rule of law.
