In a surprising turn of events, Nigeria’s Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a ₦30 billion lawsuit filed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta’s agent, AT3 Resources Limited, was also named in the lawsuit.
Justice Peter Lifu ended the case after ARCON’s lawyer, Barrister Micheal Okorie, filed a notice to discontinue the suit, stating, “the claimant hereby discontinues this suit against the defendants.”
Back in May 2023, ARCON had received permission to serve a writ of summons to Meta. This document informed Meta about the lawsuit, which initially came to light in October 2022.
ARCON accused Meta of running ads on its social media platforms without prior approval and skipping required vetting fees to the Nigerian government. ARCON highlighted that Meta earns about 97.5% of its revenue from ad sales globally, with Nigeria contributing to this figure through its 37 million active users.
The council insisted that Meta needed to get approval and pay fees for any ads displayed in Nigeria, claiming the tech giant violated Nigerian advertising laws.
Meta fought back, arguing that the Nigerian court lacked jurisdiction over it since Meta is a US-registered company. Meta urged the court to dismiss the case, calling it an abuse of the legal process.
Had ARCON won, Nigerian businesses would have borne the brunt, likely facing higher advertising costs.
In May 2023, ARCON introduced new vetting fees for social media ads, ranging from ₦7,500 ($16) to ₦100,000 ($217). This followed a 2022 announcement requiring pre-approval for all ads.
Although ARCON dropped its case, Meta still faces a $220 million fine from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for allegedly mishandling Nigerian users’ data. Meta disputes this claim and plans to appeal.
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