Court Backs FCCPC in Dispute With Air Peace Over Unrefunded Tickets
Pecohub The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed the suit filed by Air Peace Limited seeking to restrain the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) from issuing summons over numerous alleged complaints from passengers nationwide regarding unrefunded ticket fares, canceled flights, among others.
Justice James Omotosho dismissed the suit for “lacking merit,” faulting the airline for attempting to use the court to “shield” itself from investigation by a relevant authority.
The bone of contention before the court bordered on the interpretation of Section 148 of the FCCPC Act, which deals with the enforcement of rights by the Commission.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Omotosho cited Section 148(3) of the FCCPC Act, holding that upon initiating or receiving a complaint under the Act, the Commission may:
- Issue a notice of non-referral to the complainant in the prescribed form if the complaint appears to be frivolous, vexatious, or does not allege any fact that would constitute grounds for a remedy under the Act;
- Refer the complaint to an industry sector regulator with jurisdiction over the matter for investigation or resolution; or
- direct an inspector to investigate the complaint as quickly as practicable.
The judge stated that a close reading of the provisions shows that the FCCPC “can, on its own,” initiate an investigation or refer complaints to another relevant authority.
He held that, when the legislation is read holistically, the FCCPC is not stripped of its powers to investigate complaints and is “at liberty to take any of the options” provided under the Act.
He further held that the FCCPC has the requisite powers to initiate investigations into consumer complaints and that the Air Peace suit “has no legal basis.”
Regarding Air Peace’s allegation that it was denied a fair hearing due to the Commission’s refusal to disclose the identities of the complainants, the judge observed that the FCCPC issued several summons for the airline to appear, but Air Peace insisted that the complainants must first be disclosed.
