THE RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER - THE FEDERAL COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2018 (EWUGWU EMMANUEL ANENE V MTN(NIG)COMM.PLC (2025)16NWLR(PT 2016)) | Lydia Ehisuoria Ohonsi, Esq.

(A) On who is a consumer -

A consumer is an individual who purchases goods and services for personal use without the intention to resell or manufacture. He or she is regarded as the end user of goods in the chain of production or the purchaser of a service from the service provider. Statutorily, section 167(1) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 describes a consumer to include any person:

- who purchases or offers to purchase goods other than for the purpose of resale, but does not include a person who purchases any goods for the purpose of using them in the production (a) or manufacture of goods or articles for sale, or (b) to whom a service is rendered. (P. 41, paras. E-H)

(B) On what constitutes consumer rights under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 -

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 has profuse provisions on the rights of consumers. Under the Act, consumers are vested with a number of rights, which are in line with the provisions of the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (UNGCP).

The rights of consumers as provided for in the Act are as follows:

(a) Right to information in plain and understandable language under section (a) 114(1)(a) and (b); 114(1)(a) and (b)

(b) Right to disclosure of price of goods and services (b) under section 115 (1), and (3);

(c) Right to adequate product labelling and trade descriptions under section 116(1)(a), (b), (c) (2)(c) and (3)(a) and (b);

(d) Right to disclosure of re-conditioned or second- (d) hand goods under section 117;

(e) Right to be given adequate information of every (e) transaction under section 118;

(f) Right to select supplier of choice under section (f) 119(a), and (c);

(g) Right to cancel advance reservation, booking (g) or order under section 120(1), (2)(a), and(c)and section 120(3);

(h) Right to choose or examine goods under section (h) 121(1), (2), and (4);

(i) Right to return goods under section 122(a) and (b);

(j) Right to be protected against false and fraudulent marketing of goods and services (j) under section 123;

(k) Right to fair dealing under section 124(1) (a), (k) (b), (c), and (2);

(l) Right against unfair, unreasonable or unjust prices and contract terms under section 127(1) (l) (a), and section 127(2)(a), and (c);

(m) Right to notices detrimental to consumers under section 128(1)(a), and section (m) 128(2);

(n) Right to safe and quality goods under section 131 (1)(a), (b), and (d), section 132(1) and (n) section 132(2);

(o) Right to quality service under section 130(1)(a), (b), and and section 130. (Pp. 43-44, (o) paras. D-D)

Lydia Ehisuoria, Esq.

October 2025.