Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has settled out of court its long-running dispute with the Nigerian government over a $32.8 million data violation fine imposed in February.
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The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) had fined Meta $32.8 million on 18 February for alleged breaches, including unauthorised data transfers, unsolicited advertisements, and failure to file mandatory audit reports.
The action sparked a legal standoff, with Meta at one point threatening to withdraw its operations from Nigeria.
However, after months of litigation, both parties on Monday informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that they had reached an amicable resolution.
Meta’s lawyer, Fred Onuofia, SAN, moved that the agreed terms of settlement be adopted as the judgment of the court. “We adopt the terms of settlement and urge my lord to enter them as judgment in this case,” he told the court.
Counsel to the Federal Government, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, aligned with the request.
Justice James Omotosho, while commending the parties for embracing alternative dispute resolution, subsequently entered the terms of settlement—filed on 31 October 2025—as the judgment of the court.
“Having been agreed by all parties, the terms of settlement reached in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/355/2025, dated 30 October 2025 and filed on 31 October 2025, are hereby entered as judgment,” the judge ruled.
The specific terms of the agreement, however, were not disclosed.
The dispute began when the NDPC issued its Final Orders on 18 February, slamming Meta with an enforcement fee of $32.8 million and eight corrective directives for alleged violations of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), which President Bola Tinubu signed into law in June 2023.
The enforcement followed a petition by the Personal Data Protection Awareness Initiative, accusing Meta of engaging in behavioural advertising on its platforms without users’ explicit consent.
NDPC alleged that Meta processed data belonging to non-users, failed to file its 2022 compliance audit, transferred Nigerians’ data abroad without authorisation, and targeted minors with advertisements.
The commission ordered the company to conduct a data protection impact assessment reflecting Nigeria’s local context, update its privacy policies, seek express consent for behavioural advertising, and halt cross-border data transfers without approval.
Meta denied the allegations and, on 26 February, filed an ex-parte motion seeking to quash NDPC’s compliance and enforcement orders.
On 4 March, Justice Omotosho granted Meta leave to commence judicial review proceedings against the NDPC’s actions but declined to stay the commission’s enforcement pending the hearing of the substantive suit.
NDPC, represented by Adedipe, SAN, challenged the competence of Meta’s suit, arguing that it failed to comply with procedural rules under Order 34 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019.
Meta’s legal team, led by Gbolahan Elias, SAN, countered that the company was denied fair hearing, contending that the enforcement orders breached Section 36 of the Constitution.
Following several adjournments, both sides eventually opted for an out-of-court settlement. On 3 October, they informed the court of their readiness to reconcile, leading to Monday’s formal adoption of the terms as judgment.
With the resolution, the tech giant avoids further sanctions under Nigeria’s data protection law while paving the way for renewed cooperation with the country’s regulators.
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