Court affirms FCCPC’s powers to probe airline ticket pricing complaints

The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the powers of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate consumer complaints over airline ticket pricing, delivering a judgment that reinforces the Commission’s oversight role while drawing a clear distinction between market investigations and price regulation.

The decision, delivered by Justice B.F.M. Nyako on June 29, dismissed a suit filed by Air Peace Limited seeking to restrain the FCCPC from investigating complaints over alleged exploitative airfares, a ruling expected to strengthen the Commission’s ability to scrutinise pricing practices across sectors where consumers raise credible concerns.

In a statement issued Friday, Ondaje Ijagwu, FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, said the court held that the Commission acted within its statutory investigative powers under Sections 17, 32 and 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), 2018, when it requested information from the airline following widespread complaints about sharp increases in domestic airfares during the 2024 Christmas travel period.

Justice Nyako ruled that the Commission’s request for information formed part of a lawful fact-finding exercise and did not amount to price regulation under Sections 88, 89 and 90 of the Act.

The court noted that the FCCPC neither directed Air Peace to reduce its fares, prescribed a pricing formula, imposed price controls nor declared the airline’s ticket prices unlawful.

Air Peace had argued that the Commission could not investigate airfare pricing unless the President had first invoked the price regulation provisions of the FCCPA.

The airline sought declarations that the Commission lacked jurisdiction to inquire into the matter and asked the court to permanently restrain it from pursuing the investigation.

Rejecting the argument, Justice Nyako held that accepting such an interpretation would effectively prevent the Commission from investigating consumer complaints relating to pricing unless presidential approval had first been obtained, an outcome that would significantly weaken the consumer protection framework established by the FCCPA.

The judgment is the second legal setback for Air Peace in its challenge of the Commission’s investigative authority. In April, Justice James Omotosho dismissed a separate suit in which the airline contested the FCCPC’s powers to investigate consumer complaints and issue summons in the exercise of its statutory mandate.

The dispute originated in January 2025 when the FCCPC requested information from Air Peace after receiving numerous complaints from passengers over substantial increases in fares on some domestic routes during the festive season.

Commenting on the latest judgment, Tunji Bello, FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said the ruling provides important judicial clarity on the scope of the Commission’s powers and affirms that investigating consumer complaints is fundamentally different from regulating prices.

“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,” he said

He added that investigations are fact-finding exercises rather than findings of liability or enforcement actions, stressing that regulators must be able to examine credible complaints without such inquiries being misconstrued as attempts to impose price controls.

Bello said the Commission would continue to exercise its powers fairly, transparently and in accordance with the rule of law.