A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a suit filed by Air Peace Limited seeking to stop the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission from summoning it over complaints of unrefunded ticket fares and flight cancellations.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the action was without merit, accusing the airline of attempting to use the court to evade a legitimate investigation by a regulatory agency.
The dispute centred on the interpretation of Section 148 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Act, particularly the extent of the Commission’s powers to handle consumer complaints.
The court ruled that under the provisions of the law, the Commission is empowered to act on complaints by either dismissing them, referring them to relevant sector regulators or initiating investigations through its officials.
Justice Omotosho stated that the Commission has the discretion to adopt any of the options provided under the law, including independently probing alleged infractions.
He held that the FCCPC acted within its statutory mandate and dismissed the airline’s claims as lacking legal foundation.
On the issue of fair hearing, the court rejected Air Peace’s argument that it was denied due process because the Commission did not disclose the identities of complainants.
The judge described the claim as premature, noting that the airline had failed to honour several summons issued by the Commission.
He directed the airline to comply with the summons and appear before the FCCPC as required.
The suit was consequently struck out in its entirety.
Air Peace had approached the court in 2025, arguing that the Commission breached the law by allegedly initiating an investigation without first referring the matter to an industry regulator.
The airline also demanded disclosure of complainants’ identities before responding to the allegations.
However, the FCCPC maintained that it acted within its powers, citing its authority under the Act to investigate consumer protection issues.
In an earlier summons dated June 13, 2025, the Commission directed the airline to appear before it over complaints relating to unrefunded tickets, including cases involving cancelled flights, and warned of possible sanctions for failure to comply.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, guarantees consumers the right to refunds where prepaid services are not delivered.
