After weeks of disruption that left an estimated 40 million subscribers without emergency airtime credit, two of Nigeria's major telecommunications operators have restored their airtime lending services following a court-ordered rollback of the regulation that triggered the crisis in the first place.
Airtel Nigeria and Globacom have resumed airtime lending after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission suspended enforcement of its Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations following an interim order issued by the Federal High Court in Lagos. The court order, issued by Justice A.L. Allagoa on April 15, restrained the FCCPC from implementing the rules after a lawsuit filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria.
The restoration reopens access to services such as "Borrow Me Credit" by Globacom and airtime advances that millions of subscribers rely on for emergency communication needs.
The legal backdrop is layered. At a resumed hearing on April 28, 2026, the FCCPC urged the court to either proceed immediately with the matter or discharge the existing interim injunction. Instead, Justice Lewis-Allagoa ruled that both the substantive suit and the FCCPC's preliminary objection would be heard together for a comprehensive determination. The court affirmed that the interim injunction remains fully in force and adjourned the case to May 15, 2026. The Federal High Court in Abuja separately granted an interim order on April 24, restraining MTN Nigeria and Airtel from suspending services to licensed value-added service providers, following a suit filed by Nairtime Holdings Limited and Nairtime Nigeria Limited.
The FCCPC's compliance was confirmed in writing. The commission, in a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Services, Ondaje Ijagwu, confirmed it would comply with the court's directive despite its reservations, noting that it had "suspended both the implementation and enforcement of the DEON Regulations 2025 in deference to the rule of law."
The regulations at the centre of the dispute were introduced in July 2025 to curb abusive practices by digital loan apps, including debtor harassment and opaque lending terms. However, the rules adopted a broad definition of lending that extended beyond cash loans to include airtime credit, deferred-payment data bundles, and buy-now-pay-later services, and under the framework, non-compliant companies could face penalties of up to ₦100 million or 1% of annual turnover.
The suspension disrupted services for an estimated 40 million subscribers nationwide during April 2026, with many low-income Nigerians among those most acutely affected, for whom airtime borrowing functions as an essential form of emergency microcredit.
MTN Nigeria, notably, has not yet confirmed restoration of its own XtraTime service. The legal proceedings continue, and while Airtel and Glo customers can once again borrow airtime, the underlying regulatory question of whether the FCCPC has jurisdiction to classify these services as consumer loans remains unresolved and will ultimately be determined in court.
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