CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMER RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The Nigerian Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) which is modelled after the South African Competition Act, established two institutions for the purposes of enforcing its provisions. These are the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT). It saddled them with the responsibility of promoting competition in the Nigerian market by eliminating monopolies, prohibiting abuse of a dominant position and penalizing other restrictive trade and business practices. The FCCPA is applicable to all commercial activities within, or having effect in Nigeria; and in order to ensure a cordial relationship and guard against power tussle between sector- specific regulators and the FCCPC, the Act mandates the FCCPC to negotiate agreements with sector specific regulators having competition and consumer protection competence to co-ordinate as well as harmonise the exercise of jurisdiction over competition and consumer protection matters within the relevant industry or sector. This paper identifies various ways by which FCCPA, Tribunal and Commission protects the rights of consumers, particularly by protecting them from unfair terms of contracts especially in relation to interactions between the service providers and the consumers. The approach to be adopted will be doctrinal method of legal research with references to the FCCPA as well as other legal writings in position papers delivered at seminars, workshops and conferences; journals and textbooks and relevant case law. The paper is relevant in this contemporary time in Nigerian history because several Nigerians have complained of arbitrary inflation of prices by traders and service providers, and the traders in turn blame foreign exchange and fuel crises for their reckless and indiscriminate actions.