In a recent turn of events, Meta Platforms, Inc. (the company behind Facebook and Instagram) and Nigeria’s data protection agency, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), have agreed to settle out of court over a $32.8 million fine instead of continuing with litigation.
The issue began earlier this year when NDPC imposed a remedial fee of US$32,800,000 on Meta, along with eight corrective orders. The sanctions stemmed from allegations that Meta breached Nigerians’ privacy rights through behavioural advertising practices on its Facebook and Instagram platforms. NDPC argued these actions violated the Nigeria Data Protection Act, which was signed into law in June 2023.
Meta, unhappy with the penalty, challenged the agency in court. On February 26, they filed a motion ex-parte, and by March 4, the court—under Justice James Omotosho—granted some of their requests, including permission to seek a judicial review. Meta wanted a court order to quash the “compliance and enforcement orders dated Feb. 18” and all actions connected to what were called the “Final Orders.” However, Justice Omotosho denied Meta’s bid to put a temporary stop, or stay, on those orders while the case was under review, and instead ordered for an “accelerated hearing.”
Meanwhile, NDPC’s lawyers filed a preliminary objection, arguing that Meta’s suit was incompetent and that the court lacked jurisdiction over certain parts of the case. They claimed that Meta had not followed important legal procedures (specifically Order 34 Rule 6(1) of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules, 2019), and that some of Meta’s reliefs—things they were asking for—were not valid under those rules.
When the matter came back for ruling on October 4, instead of a court decision, Meta’s lawyer, Fred Onuofia, SAN, asked for the ruling to be postponed. He said both sides had made good progress toward a settlement and had already exchanged draft terms. Meta’s side expressed concern that making a ruling now might interfere with those settlement talks. NDPC’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, confirmed the progress and agreed that what’s being discussed could be submitted to the court later as a “consent judgement.”
Justice Omotosho appeared open to this idea. He noted that courts generally encourage settlement between parties. He held off on delivering his planned ruling and pushed the matter to October 31 for either the court to rule or to adopt the settlement terms.
