Court throws out N60bn fine imposed on Facebook

The Federal High Court sitting successful Lagos has nullified a N60 cardinal good imposed connected Facebook Nigeria, stating that the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, acted extracurricular its statutory powers.

The presiding judge, Justice Yellim Bogoro, nullified the good imposed connected the institution implicit alleged unapproved advertisements targeted astatine the Nigerian market.

Justice Bogoro, successful a judgement delivered connected June 18, 2026, ruled that ARCON’s announcement of usurpation and request for compliance dated October 21, 2024, was unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void.

ARCON had accused Facebook Nigeria of exposing advertisements connected Facebook and Instagram to the Nigerian marketplace without obtaining anterior support from the advertizing standards panel, contrary to the ARCON Act and the Nigerian Code of Advertising.

In the notice, the regulator directed the tech level to instantly halt displaying unapproved advertisements to Nigerian audiences and demanded outgo of N60 cardinal for what it described arsenic repeated violations.

Aggrieved by the notice, Facebook Nigeria, done its counsel, Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo, elder advocator of Nigeria, SAN, challenged the decision, insisting that ARCON had nary ineligible authorization to find transgression liability oregon enforce punitive sanctions done an administrative announcement without archetypal affording the institution a just hearing.

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