A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has thrown out the ₦60 billion fine slammed on Facebook Nigeria Operations Limited by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), ruling that the regulator overstepped its powers and breached the company’s right to fair hearing.
Justice Yellim Bogoro, delivering judgment on June 18, 2026 in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/2205/2024, declared ARCON’s Notice of Violation/Demand for Compliance — dated October 21, 2024 — unconstitutional, unlawful and void. He barred the agency from taking any further steps to enforce it.
ARCON had accused Facebook Nigeria of running unapproved adverts on Facebook and Instagram without clearance from the Advertising Standards Panel, in breach of the ARCON Act and the Nigerian Code of Advertising. The regulator demanded ₦60 billion for what it called repeated violations and ordered an immediate stop to the adverts.
Facebook Nigeria pushed back through its lawyer, Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo, SAN, arguing that ARCON had no power to determine criminal liability or impose sanctions through an administrative notice without a fair hearing. The company also insisted it neither owns nor runs Facebook or Instagram, since both platforms belong to Meta Platforms Inc., a separate foreign entity.
ARCON’s lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, argued that Facebook Nigeria represents Meta’s operations locally and should answer for regulatory breaches on the platforms, insisting the notice was simply a compliance measure that gave the company the option to comply, pay up, or face prosecution.
Justice Bogoro sided with Facebook Nigeria on every count. He held that the company is a distinct legal entity from Meta and that ARCON failed to prove it owns or controls the platforms — mere assertions were not enough.
On fair hearing, the judge ruled that ARCON breached Section 36 of the Constitution by making allegations and imposing a heavy fine in the same breath, without giving the company a chance to respond. He noted that Section 57(4) of the ARCON Act requires a fair hearing before any penalty is imposed.
The court further found that the alleged breaches were criminal in nature under Section 34 of the ARCON Act, which means punishment can only follow a conviction — not an administrative fine. Justice Bogoro said the ₦60 billion demand, whatever ARCON called it, was in substance a fine that only a court could impose after due process.
He declared the notice unconstitutional and ultra vires, ruled that ARCON has no power to fine alleged violations of Sections 34(3) and 54 or any other criminal provisions of the Act, and granted a perpetual injunction stopping ARCON and its agents from enforcing the October 2024 notice against Facebook Nigeria.
The ruling is expected to reshape how far regulatory agencies can go in enforcing digital advertising rules in Nigeria, reaffirming that only the courts can impose criminal sanctions.
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