Headlines

Understanding Consumer Rights in Nigeria: A Comprehensive Overview By Blessing Poromon

Published

1 month ago

March 21, 2024

Stella Charles Akupue

Understanding Consumer Rights in Nigeria: A Comprehensive Overview By Blessing Poromon

Do Consumer Rights Exist in Nigeria?

Without a doubt, consumer rights exist in Nigeria. Any person in Nigeria who purchases or offers to purchase goods, products, or commodities for consumption or is a recipient of certain services is accorded certain rights under the law. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2019, known as the ‘FCCP Act’ contains well-thought-out provisions on the rights of a consumer, among which are:
~Right to safe and quality goods, services
~Right against unfair prices and terms
~Right to reject goods before completing the transaction
~Right of disclosure of prices of goods and services
~Right to adequate trade description and to have products labelled
~ Right against receiving misleading, false, fraudulent and deceptive information about a product or service, among many others.

To enforce a consumer right, the proper channel for a consumer whose rights have been violated by any person or company (including financial, technological companies, electricity service providers, banks, and telecommunication providers) is to refer to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission or seek redress in a Court of competent jurisdiction. As in several decided cases, many companies have faced the music in the past, arising from failure to uphold and protect consumer rights in Nigeria.

Honest Review of Products

While the US Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) clearly protects people’s ability to share truthful experiences and opinions about a business’s products, services, or conduct in any forum, including social media, the same cannot be unequivocally said about the FCCP Act.

However, it remains that it is not illegitimate for consumers to make their honest dissatisfactions known worldwide. Most forward-looking companies have long embraced getting feedback and reviews to maximise business exposure and improvement, thus working hard to continuously provide excellent customer experiences.

ATTENTION:

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and other digital content on this website, in whole or in part, without express and written permission from Legal Attorney Blog is strictly prohibited.

Exciting news! The Legal Attorney Blog is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and staying updated with the latest legal news.