Class & Group Actions In Nigeria

Recently, a popular tech influencer announced plans for a class action lawsuit against Arik Air, calling on affected passengers to file a complaint and join  the lawsuit. 

This raised an important question. 

Can Nigerian customers come together legally in one l awsuit? 

What is Class Action?

A class action is a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of people who have all in a similar way been injured by the actions of the defendant. 

A typical class action involves a number of individual actions that have common claims but are relatively small in nature, so instead of filing separately, one or few representatives sue on behalf of everyone because the cost of individual suits may outweigh potential damages

It is important to note that there is a slight difference between :

Class actions: where the court appoints representatives and members may not be easily identifiable

Representative actions: where representatives are authorized by members and the class is usually identifiable

Legal Standing

In Nigeria, there is no codified class action law, rather it is governed by various civil procedure rules of the different courts, judicial precedents and special  laws, like the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2019. Specifically, Section 44 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA)  permits representative and class actions in consumer protection matters.

There are a few judicial decisions on class action in Nigeria including the cases of 

• Abraham Adesanya v. President of FRN (1981) LPELR-147 (SC) – The Supreme Court emphasized the limits of legal standing, ruling that only those with sufficient interest can institute actions.

• Gallaher Ltd v. BAT (Nig) Ltd (2015) 13 NWLR (Pt. 1476) 325 – Demonstrated how collective actions could be deployed in competition and consumer protection disputes.

• Babalola v. Apple Inc. (2021) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1799) 193 – The Court of Appeal affirmed that class actions are appropriate where individual claims would be impracticable or inefficient

Where Class Actions Apply

The courts in Nigeria allow for class action suits in different areas: 

• Federal High Court: 

  ORDER 9 RULE 4(1), FEDERAL HIGH COURT RULES 2019 

  Restricted to matters involving intellectual property like trademarks, patents, copyright, and designs. 

  
  

• High Court of Lagos State & Other State High Courts: 

  ORDER RULE 13(1), LAGOS RULES  2019 

  Can be used for a broader range of cases, including:

  1. Administration of estates

  2. Property subject to a trust 

  3. Land held under customary law as family or community property 

  4. Construction of written instruments, including statutes 

  5. Torts (in some jurisdictions) 

     
     

• National Industrial Court : 

  Order 13 Rule 11(5), National Industrial Court (NIC) Rules 2017

  Class actions in employment-related disputes.

Commencement of Class Action Suite

To commence a class action suit, a representative must obtain a court order that appoints them to represent the class this is called a notice of appointment, then the court would check if a class action is practical in the case, if the case raises common individual complaints, if  the representative claim is the same as the group’s,  if it’s a claim that they have jurisdiction over and if the case is suitable for collective resolution

Non compliance with these procedural rules can defeat the case. 

Why it Matters

Class actions give ordinary Nigerians access to justice they otherwise couldn’t afford. They also keep corporations accountable, especially in sectors like aviation, banking, telecoms, and fintech, where one mistake can affect millions.

Conclusion

With the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2019 and Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019 / Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) Act 2023, the potential for consumer and data privacy class actions in Nigeria is growing. For corporates, this means that class actions present a growing litigation risk therefore compliance and consumer engagement strategies aren’t optional, they’re the best shields against costly collective lawsuits that can destroy reputation or finances