The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has the legal power to investigate complaints about airline ticket prices.
In a verdict Justice B.F.M. Nyako dismissed a suit filed by Air Peace Limited. The airline was challenging the Commission’s authority to probe complaints of possible exploitative airfares.
The court clarified that the FCCPC’s power to investigate under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 is different from fixing prices.
This is the second time the court has ruled in favor of the FCCPC.
Three months ago, Justice James Omotosho also dismissed a similar suit by Air Peace and described the airline’s argument as unreasonable.
Air Peace argued that the Commission lacked authority to inquire into airfare pricing unless the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria had first invoked the price regulation provisions of the FCCPA.
The airline therefore sought declarations that the Commission lacked authority to investigate the matter, together with orders perpetually restraining it from doing so.
But Justice Nyako rejected the arguments, saying the Commission acted within its investigative powers under Sections 17, 32 and 33 of the FCCPA when it sought information from Air Peace in response to consumer complaints.
The court considered the request to be part of a lawful investigation, dismissing the argument that it amounted to the exercise of statutory price regulation or price control powers under Sections 88, 89 and 90 of the Act.
It stated that the Commission did not direct Air Peace to reduce its fares, prescribe a pricing formula, impose any price or declare the airline’s fares unlawful.
The court further held that accepting Air Peace’s interpretation would effectively prevent the Commission from investigating complaints relating to pricing unless the President had first invoked Section 88 of the FCCPA.
It maintained that such an interpretation would undermine the Commission’s investigative powers whenever pricing complaints arose and could not have been the intention of the legislature.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, described the decision as an important judicial affirmation of the Commission’s statutory responsibility to investigate market conduct where there are reasonable grounds to believe consumers or competition may be adversely affected.
“The Court has again affirmed an important principle under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act. Investigating consumer complaints is fundamentally different from regulating prices. The FCCPC neither sought to fix nor regulate Air Peace’s fares. It simply exercised its lawful authority to obtain information as part of an investigation into a matter of legitimate consumer concern.
“An investigation is a fact-finding process. It is neither a finding of liability nor an enforcement action. Every responsible regulator must be able to inquire into credible complaints affecting consumers and markets without those inquiries being misconstrued as findings of liability, enforcement action or price regulation.”
He said the judgment provides important judicial clarity on the scope of the Commission’s investigative powers while confirming that the exercise of statutory price regulation powers remains governed by the separate legal framework established under the FCCPA.
He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to exercising its statutory mandate fairly, transparently and in accordance with the rule of law.
