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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA’s 

FEDERAL COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMISSION AND 

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION ON MUTUAL ENFORCEMENT 

ASSISTANCE IN CONSUMER PROTECTION MATTERS

The United States Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), and the Federal Republic of 

Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“FCCPC”) and 

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (“EFCC”) (each “a Participant”),

RECOGNIZING that fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices, and other unlawful 

conduct against consumers, undermine the integrity of both domestic and global 

markets to the detriment of all businesses and consumers, and undermine consumer 

confidence in those markets;

RECOGNIZING that the enforcement challenges that exist go beyond national frontiers 

and therefore that cooperation between national public authorities responsible for the 

enforcement of laws that protect the interests of consumers is essential to fight such 

practices; 

RECOGNIZING that cross-border fraud and deception often involve violations of both 

criminal and civil laws, and that appropriate cooperation between civil and criminal 

enforcement bodies can effectively help address and deter such unlawful conduct;

RECOGNIZING that appropriate coordination between civil and criminal agencies can 

provide complementary approaches to serious economic crime, including mass 

marketing fraud, through information and intelligence sharing and parallel enforcement; 

RECOGNIZING that the Participants have already worked together in connection with 

the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (“ICPEN”), the African 

Consumer Protection Dialogue, and the International Mass Marketing Fraud Working 

Group; and 

RECOGNIZING that the Participants have established strong working relationships and 

previously executed a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States 

Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Federal Competition 

and Consumer Protection Commission (formerly the Consumer Protection Council) and 

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Mutual Enforcement Assistance in 

Consumer Protection Matters, and that this Memorandum is the successor to and 

updates that Memorandum.

HAVE REACHED THE FOLLOWING UNDERSTANDING:

I. Definitions

For the purposes of this Memorandum of Understanding (“Memorandum”),
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A. “Applicable Consumer Protection Laws” means the laws and regulations 

identified in Annex 1, and such other laws or regulations as the Participants 

may from time to time collectively identify in writing to be an Applicable 

Consumer Protection Law for purposes of this Memorandum. 

B. “Covered Violation” means a practice that would violate the Applicable 

Consumer Protection Laws of one Participant's country and that are the same 

or substantially similar to a practice prohibited by any provision of the 

Applicable Consumer Protection Laws of the other country described in 

Annex 1 of this Memorandum.

C. “Information” means evidence, testimony, communications, statements, 

documents or copies thereof, data, metadata, recordings, images in any form, 

and all data compilations that serve to identify, locate or link any such 

materials such as file inventories, folders and lists, or other things, that are 

obtained in anticipation of or during the course of an investigation or 

enforcement proceeding, including the identity of a person under investigation 

and any personal data necessary or useful for such an investigation or 

proceeding; 

D. “Materials” means all documents and electronically stored information and 

tangible things that were shared under this Memorandum and that are in a 

Requesting Participant’s possession, custody, or control

E. “Person” means any natural person or legal entity, including corporations, 

unincorporated associations, partnerships, or bodies corporate existing under 

or authorized by the laws of either the United States, its States, or its 

Territories, the laws of Nigeria, or its Territories, or the laws of other 

countries.

F. “Request” means a request for assistance under this Memorandum.

G. “Requested Participant” means the Participant from which assistance is 

sought under this Memorandum, or which has provided such assistance.

H. “Requesting Participant” means the Participant seeking or receiving 

assistance under this Memorandum.

II. Objectives and Scope of Assistance

A. This Memorandum sets forth the Participants’ intent with regard to mutual 

assistance and the exchange of Information for the purpose of enforcing and 

securing compliance with Applicable Consumer Protection Laws. 

B. The Participants understand that it is in their common interest to:
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1. cooperate with respect to the enforcement of the Applicable Consumer 

Protection Laws, including sharing Information that a Participant

believes would be relevant to investigations or enforcement 

proceedings regarding Covered Violations of the Applicable Consumer 

Protection Laws, consumer complaints and other personally 

identifiable information, that a Participant believes would be relevant to 

investigations or enforcement proceedings regarding Covered 

Violations of the Applicable Consumer Protection Laws;

2. facilitate mutual exchange of knowledge and expertise through training 

programs and staff exchanges;

3. facilitate research and education related to consumer protection;

4. promote a better understanding by each Participant of economic and 

legal conditions and theories relevant to the enforcement of the 

Applicable Consumer Protection Laws; and

5. inform each other of developments in their respective countries that 

relate to this Memorandum. 

C. In furtherance of these common interests, and consistent with Section IV, the 

Participants intend to use best efforts to:

1. share Information, including consumer complaints and other personally 

identifiable information, that a Participant believes would be relevant to 

investigations or enforcement proceedings regarding Covered 

Violations of the Applicable Consumer Protection Laws;

2. provide investigative assistance in appropriate cases, including 

obtaining Information under the Participants’ respective legal 

authorities, on behalf of the other Participant;

3. exchange and provide other relevant information in relation to matters 

within the scope of this Memorandum, such as information relevant to 

consumer and business education; government and self-regulatory 

enforcement solutions; amendments to relevant legislation; and 

staffing and resource issues;

4. pursue further staff exchanges and joint training programs;

5. coordinate enforcement against cross-border Covered Violations that 

are priority issues for the Participants;
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6. provide other appropriate assistance that would aid in the enforcement 

against Covered Violations;

7. engage in enforcement cooperation to address the use of wire 

transfers with a nexus to Covered Violations;

8. continue membership in, and the use of complaint data from, the 

multinational project www.econsumer.gov; and 

9. coordinate participation in efforts to address consumer protection 

issues relating to spam and cyber threat enforcement, including 

participation in the UCENet. 

D. Joint Implementation Committee

The Participants intend to establish a Joint Implementation Committee, made 

up of not more than three representatives from each Participant, which is 

expected to meet at least twice a year, either in person or by telephone or 

videoconference, in order to:

1. discuss pending Requests made by the Participants;

2. assess Requests concerning acts and practices set forth in Section II, 

including which Requests are the highest priorities to pursue;

3. review econsumer.gov complaint data and other complaint data sources, 

such as complaint data compiled by the FCCPC, the EFCC and the 

FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, to identify areas of mutual 

enforcement interest for coordinated enforcement work; and 

4. when appropriate, consider the need for improvements to this 

Memorandum and to make suitable proposals for modification.

III. Requests for Assistance

A. Each Participant is to designate a primary contact for the purposes of 

Requests for assistance and other communications under this Memorandum.

B. If the request relates to Enforcement of Applicable Consumer Protection 

Laws, then Participants understand that: 

1. Requests for assistance are to include sufficient Information to enable 

the Requested Participant to determine whether a Request relates to a 

Covered Violation and to take action in appropriate circumstances. 

Such Information may include a description of the facts underlying the 

request and the type of assistance sought, as well as an indication of 
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any special precautions that should be taken in the course of fulfilling 

the Request, as described in Annex 2;

2. Requests for assistance are to specify the purpose for which the 

Information requested is to be used; 

3. Consistent with Section V, a Request for assistance certifies that the 

Requesting Participant is to maintain the confidentiality of each 

Request for assistance, the existence of any investigation related to 

the request, all materials related to each request, and all Information 

provided in response to each request, unless otherwise determined; 

and

4. Prior to submitting Requests for assistance, Participants should 

perform a preliminary inquiry to ensure that the Request is consistent 

with the scope of this Memorandum and does not impose an excessive 

burden on the Requested Participant.

C. Participants should use their best efforts to resolve any disagreements related 

to cooperation that may arise under this Memorandum, and, failing resolution 

in a reasonably timely manner, by discussion between appropriate senior 

officials designated by the Participants. 

IV. Limitations on Assistance

A. The Requested Participant may exercise its discretion to decline the Request, 

or limit or condition its cooperation, including where it is outside the scope of 

this Memorandum, or more generally, where it would be inconsistent with 

domestic laws, or important interests or priorities.

 

B. The Participants recognize that it is not feasible for a Participant to offer 

assistance to the other Participant for every Covered Violation. Accordingly, 

the Participants intend to use best efforts, as outlined in Section II, to seek 

and provide cooperation focusing on those Covered Violations most serious 

in nature, such as those that cause or are likely to cause injury to a significant 

number of persons, and those otherwise causing substantial injury. If asked, 

the Requested Participant is to provide a preliminary response within 30 days 

as to whether it intends to fulfil the Request, decline the Request, or limit or 

condition its cooperation with the Request. If the Requested Participant 

intends to fulfil the Request, its response may include a non-binding time 

estimate.

C. A Requesting Participant may request the reasons for which a Requested 

Participant declined or limited assistance.
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V. Confidentiality and Data Safeguards Certification

A. When disclosing Information under this Memorandum, the Participants intend to 

set out: that the Information is disclosed for official law enforcement purposes; 

whether there may be any further onward disclosure of the Information, and if so, 

the procedures for doing so; and whether the Information may be used for any 

other purpose. To the fullest extent possible, and consistent with their respective 

laws, each Participant intends to certify the confidential treatment of Information 

received under this Memorandum, including the existence of an investigation to 

which the Information relates. The Participants plan to treat the shared 

Information, the existence of the investigation to which the Information relates, 

and any Requests made pursuant to this Memorandum as confidential, and do 

not intend to further disclose or use this Information for purposes other than 

those for which it was originally shared, which may include assistance from a

third party, without the prior written consent of the Requesting Participant. 

B. Each Participant is to use best efforts, consistent with its laws, to safeguard the 

security of any Information received under this Memorandum and respect any 

safeguards decided upon by the Participants involved in the Request. In the 

event of any unauthorized access or disclosure of the Information, the 

Participants are to take all reasonable steps to prevent a recurrence of the event 

and to promptly notify any other affected Participant of the occurrence. 

C. The Participants recognize that Information exchanged in connection with 

investigations and enforcement often contains personally identifiable information. 

If the Requesting Participant wishes to obtain confidential Information that 

includes personally identifiable information, the Participants understand that they 

are to take additional appropriate measures to safely transmit and safeguard the 

Information containing personally identifiable information. Protective measures 

include, but are not limited to, the following examples and their reasonable 

equivalents, which may be used separately or combined as appropriate to 

particular circumstances:

1. transmitting the Information in an encrypted format;

2. transmitting the Information directly by a courier with package tracking 

capabilities;

3. maintaining the Information in secure, limited access locations (e.g., 

password-protected files for electronic information and locked storage 

for hard-copy information); and

4. if used in a proceeding that may lead to public disclosure, redacting 

personally identifiable information or filing under seal.
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VI. Disclosure of Confidential Information

A. Notwithstanding Section V.A, the Participants understand that:

1. A Participant may disclose Information provided pursuant to this 

Memorandum in response to a formal demand from the Participant’s 

country’s legislative body or an order issued from a court with proper 

jurisdiction in an action commenced by the Participant or its government; 

and

2. Information obtained in connection with the investigation or 

enforcement of criminal laws may be used for the purpose of investigation, 

prosecution, or prevention of violations of a Participant’s country’s criminal 

laws.

B. The Participants should oppose, to the fullest extent possible consistent with 

their respective laws, any application by a third party for disclosure of 

confidential Information received from a Requested Participant, unless the 

Requested Participant consents to its release. The Participant that receives 

such an application is to notify forthwith the Participant that provided it with 

the confidential Information. This is not understood to require a Participant to 

appeal every decision of a court or tribunal ordering it to disclose Information. 

In such a case, the Participants should consult each other on next steps.

Moreover, nothing in this provision is understood to interfere with the 

defendant’s right to obtain certain exculpatory information in a criminal 

proceeding.

VII. Retention of Materials

A. Participants understand they are expected to not retain Materials for longer 

than is reasonably needed to fulfil the purpose for which the Materials were 

shared, or any document retention required by the Requesting Participant’s 

country’s laws, whichever is longer.

B. The Participants recognize that in order to fulfil the purpose for which the 

Materials were shared, the Participants typically need to retain the Materials 

until the conclusion of the pertinent investigation or related proceedings for 

which the Materials were requested. 

C. Consistent with their respective laws, the Participants are expected to return 

or delete any Materials that are no longer needed, using secure methods, as 

soon as practicable after the Requested Participant makes a written request 
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for return or deletion or otherwise within a reasonable time once the Materials 

are no longer required. 

VIII. Costs

Unless otherwise decided by the Participants, each Participant bears its own costs. 

IX. Duration of Cooperation

A. The Participants intend cooperation in accordance with this Memorandum to 

begin on the date the Memorandum has been signed by all Participants and 

to continue until discontinued in accordance with the provisions of this 

Memorandum.

B. Assistance in accordance with this Memorandum is understood to be 

available concerning Covered Violations occurring before as well as after this 

arrangement is signed.

C. A Participant may discontinue its participation in this Memorandum at any 

time. A Participant should endeavor to provide 30 days written notice of its 

intent to discontinue the Memorandum. Before providing such notice, a 

Participant is expected to consult with the other Participant(s).

D. This Memorandum may be modified by mutual decision of the Participants. 

Any modification is to be in writing and signed by all Participants.

E. On discontinuation of this Memorandum, the Participants are to maintain the 

confidentiality of any Information communicated to them by the other 

Participant in accordance with this Memorandum, and return or destroy, in 

accordance with the provisions of Section VI and Section VII, Information 

obtained from the other Participant in accordance with this Memorandum.
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X. Legal Effect

Nothing in this Memorandum is intended to:

A. Create binding obligations, or affect existing obligations, under international or 

domestic law.

B. Prevent a Participant from seeking assistance from or providing assistance to the 

other Participants pursuant to other agreements, arrangements, or practices.

C. Affect any right of a Participant to seek information on a lawful basis from a 

Person located in the territory of the other Participant's country, or preclude any 

such Person from voluntarily providing legally obtained information to a 

Participant.

D. Create a commitment that conflicts with the Participant’s national laws, court 

orders, or any applicable international legal instruments.

E. Create expectations of cooperation that would exceed a Participant's jurisdiction.

Signed in Washington DC, United States of America, and Abuja, Nigeria, in triplicate.

 ______________________________ 

Joseph J. Simons

Chairman

Federal Trade Commission

United States of America

Date:

 ______________________________

Babatunde Irukera

Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer

Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

Nigeria

Date:

 ___________________________________

 Mohammed Umar Abba

 Acting Executive Chairman

 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

 Nigeria

 Date:

 
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ANNEX 1

Applicable Consumer Protection Laws

For Nigeria: 

1. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Act of the 

Federation of Nigeria, 2018 and all the Regulations made pursuant thereto.

2. Part II of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004.

For the United States of America:

The Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 41-58, the Telemarketing and 

Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6101-6108, the CAN-SPAM 

Act of 2003, 15 U.S.C. §§ 7701-7713, and other consumer protection laws, and the 

regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws, except those provisions comprising 

Federal antitrust laws (as defined in section 12(5) of the International Antitrust 

Enforcement Assistance Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C § 6211(5)).
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ANNEX 2

Standard Request Form

The Standard Request form is to include the following:

(a) the names of the Requested and of the Requesting Participants;

(b) the name, location, and contact details of the subject(s) of the investigation, if 

available;

(c) a general description of the alleged infringement including, where applicable, the 

name of the product or service and the advertising or sales medium involved;

(d) the estimated number and location of consumers likely to be harmed and the 

estimated economic harm;

(e) the Applicable Consumer Protection Laws allegedly violated;

(f) the description of the assistance requested;

(g) the purpose for which the Information requested is to be used; 

(h) the statutory basis for maintaining confidentiality of a Request and all Information 

exchanged in connection with the Request, consistent with Annex 3 of the 

Memorandum;

(i) an indication of any special precautions that should be taken in the course of 

fulfilling the Request;

(j) a description of any investigation and consultations undertaken by the 

Requesting Participant; and

(k) a description of the Information establishing a Covered Violation including 

witnesses and documents that the Requesting Participant can provide to the 

Requested Participant.

(l) a certification of confidential treatment.
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Annex 3

The Participants’ authority to maintain requested Information in confidence is as follows:

For the FTC: 

The FTC protects the confidentiality of sensitive, nonpublic information received from 

businesses or consumers located domestically or abroad, or from foreign authorities, 

under applicable provisions of U.S. law. As a general matter, the FTC typically does not 

disclose nonpublic agency information. Nonpublic agency information can include 

information submitted to the agency, information about the Commission’s investigations 

and actions, and information about internal agency deliberations. Unauthorized 

disclosure of nonpublic information submitted to the Commission is subject to criminal 

prosecution and punishable by fines or imprisonment under the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 

50. Under certain circumstances, unauthorized disclosure of nonpublic agency 

information is subject to criminal sanction under the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 

1905, the Larceny Act, 18 U.S.C. § 641, and SEC Rule 10b-5. In addition, the 

disclosure of materials submitted to the Commission is restricted by the following 

provisions of the FTC Act:

Sections 21(b) and 21(f) of the FTC Act, together with Commission Rule 4.10(d), 

limit disclosure of information in a law enforcement investigation if the information 

was submitted pursuant to compulsory process or if it was submitted voluntarily 

in lieu of such process pursuant to a request and designated confidential.

Section 6(f) of the FTC Act limits disclosure of trade secrets and confidential or 

privileged commercial or financial information.

Section 21(c) of the FTC Act requires pre-disclosure notice to the submitter 

where the Commission intends to disclose documents marked “confidential” by a 

submitter if the Commission or its designee determines that such documents are 

not in fact confidential.

The FTC Act does, however, permit disclosure of information protected by Sections 6(f), 

21(b) and 21(f) to foreign law enforcement authorities in specified circumstances.1

Other federal laws also require the FTC to treat specific types of information as 

confidential, without regard to the manner in which the information is obtained. For 

example, U.S. law imposes confidentiality obligations regarding certain classes of 

information, including personally identifiable information, maintained by federal 

 1 Such disclosure is permitted in the agency’s discretion, for example, when the foreign law enforcement 

authority requests information for the purpose of investigating or engaging in enforcement proceedings 

related to possible violations of foreign laws prohibiting fraudulent or deceptive practices or other 

practices substantially similar to practices prohibited by any law administered by the Commission. Among 

other requirements, the foreign law enforcement agency must certify that it will use such information only 

for official law enforcement purposes, and set forth a bona fide legal basis for its authority to maintain the 

information in confidence.
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agencies. See, e.g., 5 U.S.C. § 552a (Privacy Act of 1974). There are certain, discrete 

circumstances in which the FTC may disclose a person’s confidential information for a 

specific use. For example, the FTC Act does not bar the agency’s use of a person’s 

confidential information in judicial and administrative proceedings. However, the Federal 

Rules of Civil Procedure and FTC Rules of Practice include procedures to protect 

confidential information used in judicial proceedings or FTC administrative proceedings. 

For instance, the person providing information may seek a protective order to prevent 

confidential information from being made public or from being used outside the court 

proceeding. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c); 16 C.F.R. § 3.31(d) (requiring Administrative Law 

Judge in FTC proceeding to issue a specific protective order). In addition, the FTC Act 

does not prohibit the agency from complying with information requests from Congress. 

In the event of such a request, however, the agency must notify the submitter of the 

information, and the agency can request confidential treatment of any information that 

may be shared.

The FTC is also subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, 

which requires the agency to provide access to certain existing government records to 

the public. The law recognizes, however, that the disclosure of certain information could 

be harmful. It therefore recognizes exceptions and excludes some records, or portions 

of records, from release including certain law enforcement records (e.g., certain 

investigatory files) including from foreign agencies. In addition, under Section 21(f) of 

the FTC Act as amended by the U.S. SAFE WEB Act, the FTC may also withhold from 

disclosure:

(i) any material obtained from a foreign law enforcement agency or other foreign 

government agency, if the foreign law enforcement agency or other foreign 

government agency has requested confidential treatment, or has precluded such 

disclosure under other use limitations, as a condition of providing the material; 

(ii) any material reflecting a consumer complaint obtained from any other foreign 

source, if that foreign source supplying the material has requested confidential 

treatment as a condition of providing the material; or 

(iii) any material reflecting a consumer complaint submitted to a Commission 

reporting mechanism sponsored in part by foreign law enforcement agencies or 

other foreign government agencies.
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For the FCCPC:

The FCCPC pursuant to its statutory obligations under Section 105(6)(d) of the Federal 

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Act of the Federation of Nigeria, 2018 

is mandated to protect confidential information. 

(d) provide[s] for the exchange of information and the protection of confidential 

information

These obligations apply to the confidentiality of information not already in the public, 

relating to individuals and businesses that come under the regulatory scrutiny of the 

FCCPC in connection with the exercise of its statutory functions. Restrictions on the 

further disclosure of information apply to the FCCPC and to other persons to whom it 

makes disclosure. 

For the EFCC:

The EFCC is under statutory obligations under Section 39 (1) of the Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004 to protect confidential 

information. These obligations apply to the confidentiality of information relating to 

individuals and businesses that comes to the EFCC in connection with the exercise of its 

statutory functions. Restrictions on the further disclosure of information apply to the EFCC 

and to other persons to whom it makes disclosure. In particular, a person making an 

unlawful disclosure commits a criminal offence (S39 (2) (d) of the EFCC Act).