By Sunday Stephen

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat M. O. Kekere-Ekun, has declared the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) a crucial institution for safeguarding Nigeria’s business environment and preserving the integrity of the marketplace.
Justice Kekere-Ekun made the declaration in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the opening of a three-day Competition and Consumer Protection Law Conference at the National Judicial Institute, Jabi.
According to the CJN, the Commission plays a central role in enforcing competition and consumer protection laws, ensuring fairness in Nigeria’s markets.
“As the statutory authority responsible for enforcing competition and consumer protection laws, the Commission plays a vital role in safeguarding the integrity of the marketplace,” she said.
The conference drew top judicial officers, regulators, legal practitioners and policy experts, including the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of FCCPC, Tunji Bello; M. L. Shuaibu; James Gambo Abundaga; A. B. Mohammed; Administrator of the NJI B. A. Adejumo; FCCPC Executive Commissioner (Operations) Louis Odion; former Lagos Attorney-General Moyosore Onigbanjo; former FCCPC boss Babatunde Irukera; and Senior Advocate Joseph Abugu.
Highlighting the Commission’s strategic importance, the CJN said FCCPC occupies a pivotal position in Nigeria’s regulatory framework, with responsibility for promoting fair competition and protecting consumers across critical sectors of the economy.
She noted that competition and consumer protection law has become one of the fastest-growing and most contested fields of legal practice globally, driven by developments in digital markets, complex corporate structures and evolving consumer rights issues.
“Across jurisdictions, competition and consumer protection law has rapidly evolved into one of the most dynamic and litigated fields of legal practice,” she said.
Justice Kekere-Ekun warned that as markets grow more complex, courts are likely to see a rising number of disputes involving regulatory enforcement, competition practices and consumer rights.
She therefore stressed the need for sustained collaboration between regulators and the judiciary to ensure effective interpretation and enforcement of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018.
“Continuous dialogue and knowledge exchange between regulators and the judiciary are indispensable,” the CJN added.
Earlier in his remarks, Bello called for greater awareness and understanding of competition and consumer protection laws among businesses, regulators and the judiciary.
“Competition and consumer protection law often finds its most practical expression in the courtroom,” Bello said.
“It is there that the legal principles governing markets are tested, clarified and given authoritative interpretation.”
He explained that the FCCPA 2018 established a comprehensive national framework to tackle anti-competitive practices, protect consumer welfare, review mergers and acquisitions, and strengthen market surveillance in Nigeria.
Bello noted that technological innovation, digital commerce, cross-border transactions and increasingly complex corporate structures are rapidly transforming how markets operate.
According to him, the growing complexity of disputes now requires courts to examine economic evidence, expert testimony and market data when determining whether certain business conduct restricts competition or harms consumer welfare.