… Judge Adopts Confidential Agreement
…Case Ends After Months Of Heated Courtroom Clash
Daud Olatunji
Meta Platforms, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, on Monday settled its long-running legal dispute with the Nigerian government over a $32.8 million data protection fine, opting for an out-of-court resolution after months of intense legal hostilities.
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) had, on February 18, imposed the multi-million-dollar penalty on Meta, accusing the tech giant of violating Nigeria’s Data Protection Act through unauthorised data transfers, behavioural advertising without user consent, failure to file mandatory audit reports, and targeting minors, among other alleged infractions.
The sanction, which followed a petition by the Personal Data Protection Awareness Initiative, sparked a legal battle and threats of service disruption, with Meta at one point suggesting it could shut down its operations in Nigeria if the fine stood.
At Monday’s proceeding before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, counsel to Meta, Fred Onuofia (SAN), informed the court that both parties had reached a settlement and asked that the terms be adopted as judgment.
“We adopt the terms of settlement and urge my lord to enter the terms as judgment in this case,” Mr Onuofia said.
Government’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), aligned with Meta’s position, confirming that the agreement had been mutually executed.
Justice Omotosho, who commended both parties for choosing an amicable resolution, adopted the settlement filed on 31 October 2025 as the court’s final judgment.
“Having been agreed by all parties, the terms of settlement in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/355/2025, dated 30 October and filed on 31 October, are hereby entered as judgment of this court,” the judge ruled.
However, details of the agreement were not disclosed, leaving uncertainty over whether Meta will pay the full fine or if concessions were reached.
The NDPC had invoked the Nigeria Data Protection Act, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023, to penalise Meta after alleging: data processing without user consent;processing data of non-users;failure to submit its 2022 compliance audit; unauthorised transfer of Nigerians’ data abroad and ; behavioural ads targeting minors
The Commission also issued eight corrective directives, including mandatory Data Protection Impact Assessments and a halt to cross-border data transfers without approval.
Meta rejected the allegations, filing a judicial review suit on 26 February to quash the enforcement orders, arguing that the NDPC denied it fair hearing and breached constitutional rights to due process.
While Justice Omotosho granted Meta leave to commence the review, he declined its request to halt NDPC’s actions pending the hearing.
The litigation escalated, with NDPC challenging the court’s jurisdiction and accusing Meta of procedural violations.
Meta later sought amendments to its filings, and after months of adjournments, both parties informed the court on 3 October that they were exploring a settlement option.
Monday’s adoption of the terms formally ends the dispute.
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