The Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPC, and American tech giant Meta Platforms Inc. are seeking to settle a long-running legal dispute over a $32.8 million sanction imposed on the company for alleged violations of users’ privacy rights in Nigeria.
At a sitting on Friday before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, lawyers representing both sides informed the court that advanced discussions were underway to resolve the matter through mutual settlement.
The dispute originated in February when the NDPC, invoking the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023, imposed a remedial fine of $32.8 million and issued eight corrective compliance orders against Meta.
The regulator accused the parent company of Facebook and Instagram of breaching Nigerians’ privacy through targeted behavioural advertising practices.
Meta, dissatisfied with the sanction, filed a motion ex-parte on February 26, seeking judicial review of the NDPC’s final orders.
Justice Omotosho granted Meta leave to challenge the enforcement orders but declined to halt the proceedings entirely, instead directing an accelerated hearing of the case.
As hearings progressed, NDPC filed a preliminary objection urging the court to strike out the case for lack of jurisdiction.
The agency’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, argued that Meta’s originating summons was incompetent under the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules.
ALSO READ: NDPC urges court to reject Meta’s legal challenge
However, during Friday’s proceedings, Meta’s counsel, Onwuobia, requested that the judge defer ruling on the objection and a separate motion to amend its filings.
He revealed that both parties had already exchanged draft terms of settlement and were close to reaching an agreement.
Confirming this, NDPC’s lawyer admitted that negotiations had advanced significantly and urged the court to adjourn so that formal terms could be finalized and possibly adopted as a consent judgment.
Justice Omotosho accepted the submissions and adjourned the case until October 31 for either the adoption of a settlement agreement or delivery of pending rulings.
The fine against Meta marked one of the NDPC’s highest-profile enforcement actions since its establishment under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The regulator has consistently argued that stronger enforcement is necessary to protect citizens’ digital rights and ensure global technology firms comply with Nigerian data laws.
For Meta, the case underscores mounting regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions.
While the company continues to face lawsuits and penalties in Europe and the United States over privacy concerns, resolving the Nigerian case amicably may prevent further reputational damage and allow it to maintain a smoother relationship with regulators in Africa’s largest digital market.
NAN
