Legal Experts, Ad Practitioners Call For Greater Support Of Nigeria’s Advertising Offences Tribunal

Experts from the Nigerian legal and advertising professions have called for robust support of Nigeria’s Advertising Offences Tribunal, stating that the tribunal aims to curb widespread consumer deception, end the “digital grey zone” for influencers, and address significant economic losses caused by foreign advertisement production.

The experts made the call when the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association – Lawyers in the Media Forum (NBA-LIM) held a Town Hall Meeting recently at Sheba Event Centre, Ikeja, Lagos. AOT is a judicial tribunal specifically vested with criminal jurisdiction over advertising offences.

Speaking during the panel session, ARCON DG, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, observed that the failure of self-regulation makes statutory regulation very important in Nigeria.

For him, if there were no enforcement, there would be abuse. “We rest enforcement on AOT”.

“With the advent of AOT, it has helped in streamlining and ensuring compliance with the advertising law. Advertising cannot go on auto run, hence the AOT is extremely critical,” Fadolapo added.

In his reaction on how to create a balance between ARCON flexibility and AOT, AAAN President and Chairman, HASG, Lanre Adisa called for co-regulation. He explained that co-regulation will improve the synergy among stakeholders in the industry.

He stressed that with Co-regulation, there would be some collaboration, some conversation within the ecosystem. Adisa spoke further: “But unfortunately, this is not happening now, and that is no fault of ARCON. Eight years of Buhari’s administration, there was no ARCON council, during the two years of Bola Tinubu’s administration, still no Council. So, for ten years running, no advertising council- that is not done.

“If we are serious enough to have a tribunal, serious enough to put in place all of the things we have put in place so far, what does it take to have a council in place? Because a council already will enable the collaboration we are talking about- enable all the sectoral groups and different sectors, including CBN and all. So, things to do with advertising are discussed generally speaking to ensure that there is a synergy and sanity as well so whatever is the intent of the council, of ARCON as we see today cannot be said is the DG’s intent- NO, it’s an institution and the only way to protect an institution is to have things work through checks and balancing that is where the council will come in.

“Secondly, we need to encourage conversations, like I said, we have constant conversations with the DG, but we need to do more for the growth of the industry.

“At the moment, we are at the beginning, and people are trying to get this law, and when we go past that, it will begin to be easier going forward to work within the ambit of the law and stay creative. We have no excuse,” he submitted.

On her part, former AAAN President and Chief Executive, LabyBird Advertising, Bunmi Oke, calls for more engagement and sensitisation around the AOT to give it the desired push.

In her opening remarks, Justice Cecilia Olatoregun (retd), the Chairman of the Advertising Offences Tribunal, emphasized that the tribunal was created to ensure compliance, uphold ethical standards, and address the rising issues of misinformation and regulatory breaches in advertising.

She pointed out that Nigeria’s advertising industry has grown beyond traditional media into a variety of digital platforms, highlighting the need for stronger oversight and a more unified regulatory framework.

Speaking during his keynote address, Akinlolu Kehinde SAN, Principal Counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde & Co., described the Advertising Offences Tribunal as “A bold experiment in regulatory governance—the world’s first judicial tribunal with criminal jurisdiction over advertising offences.”

Represented by Barrister Leke Kehinde, Chief Kehinde noted that, Advertising is no longer merely a persuasive art—it is the economic bloodstream of our nation.

According to PwC, he pointed out, Nigeria’s advertising industry was valued at over ₦600 billion in 2023, with projections exceeding ₦890 billion by 2028. This growth reflects advertising’s role as a major driver of jobs, business innovation, and economic activity.

“But with exponential power comes exponential risk. In the digital age, a single misleading post can reach millions within seconds. A deceptive health claim can endanger lives. An unvetted financial advert can drain savings. The stakes are too high to rely solely on industry self-regulation or reactive civil enforcement,” he said.

Noting the problems that necessitated the AOT, he further said: “First, the jurisdictional gap. Under the old APCON regime, courts consistently held that APCON could not regulate non-professional advertisers. This was a fatal flaw in the age of influencers, skit-makers, and social media marketing. Millions of Nigerians were being reached by unregulated content creators who fell outside APCON’s statutory jurisdiction.

He listed enforcement vacuum resulting from a fragmented regulatory framework between multiple agencies, making enforcement slow and weak, and the speed problem occasioned by traditional court processes, as other problems.

“By the time a civil case wound through the courts, the harm was done, the campaign had ended, and the perpetrators had moved on,” he observed.

These problems, he said, demanded a bold solution- that solution came through the ARCON Act in 2022, which repealed APCON and introduced comprehensive regulation of all advertising, regardless of medium or practitioner status. “At its heart was a revolutionary innovation: the Advertising Offences Tribunal”.

“The AOT has exclusive original jurisdiction over all criminal advertising offences under the Act and violations of the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice. This jurisdiction extends nationwide and covers all forms of advertising.

“The Tribunal’s powers are robust, covering imposition of fines for violations; Issuing search warrants to gather evidence; Compelling attendance and testimony; and Imposing custodial sentences.

“Importantly, appeals from the AOT go directly to the Court of Appeal, bypassing lower courts. This accelerated appellate pathway reflects the technical nature of advertising disputes and the need for speed in a fast-moving market,” he added.

According to him, other critical roles of the AOT include: Consumer protection through swift justice; deterrence and compliance culture, and bridging the digital gap through regulating the digital advertising space.