A study on the establishment of consumer ombudsman for e-commerce under Nigerian law

Abstract

In Nigeria, the changing landscape of commercial activities through E-commerce transactions necessitates a reform of dispute resolution mechanisms and consumer protection laws. Complaints and dispute arise as a result of unfair market conducts, advertisement, wrong product description, warranties, guarantees and return policies which put both online and offline consumers in vulnerable position. The ineptitude of the Nigerian Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to tackle e-commerce complaints, lack of human capacity and inadequate dispute resolution mechanisms are among the challenges of consumer protection in Nigeria. In addition, the CPC seems to lack adequate legal framework for handling all kinds of consumer complaint and disputes in the country. This study therefore examines the legal and regulatory challenges for consumer e-commerce ombudsman in Nigeria and the need for reform-oriented policies and laws. The characteristics and ethos of classical ombudsman are discussed along with modern ombudsman practices in the private sector in other jurisdictions. The tripartite interaction among regulators, businesses and consumers in this research made triangulation method and mixed research method approach as appropriate for the study. In order to examine the state of the e-commerce and consumer goods sector, interviews were conducted with online retailers and regulators while questionnaire were administered on 191 respondents who are spread across eight major commercial cities in Nigeria. The analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data reveals the need for consumer ombudsman in the business sector which will cover both traditional and e-commerce consumers. Therefore, the study examined various regulatory models and practices of consumer ombudsman in jurisdictions such the United Kingdom, South Africa and Denmark. The self-regulatory model of the UK seems to substantially align with the Nigerian regulatory environment while there are potential lessons in the consumer ombudsman framework in other jurisdiction. The significance of this research lies in the identification of alternative regulatory models which can leverage on international best practices and existing consumer dispute resolution to establish e-commerce ombudsman services in Nigeria.