Nigeria Probes Uber’s Sudden Exit

Nigeria’s competition and consumer watchdog is examining how Uber shut its app in the country last week, focusing on trips and payments that riders and drivers say were left unfinished when the service stopped.

Tunji Bello, chief executive of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, told Bloomberg on Sunday that officials were “looking into the manner of their exit, particularly in respect of unfulfilled services to the customers.” Uber announced on 2 September that it would wind down in Nigeria and Uganda the same day, ending a presence that began in Lagos in 2014. The company called the decision tough and said it followed a review of business priorities; it gave no detailed commercial reason and said the rest of its African operations were unaffected. The help centre for drivers is due to stay open until 24 September.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has rejected the idea that tighter rules on e-hailing at airports pushed Uber out. Managing director Olubunmi Kuku told aviation reporters that the firm had already been weighing a departure on its own economic and regulatory grounds. What concerned FAAN, she said, was passenger safety and who is liable when a platform driver works on airport land. Complaints around the December holiday period, she added, ranged from intimidation to passengers being set down in the wrong place, which is why the authority tightened oversight of commercial car hire at terminals. Uber has separately said the airport directive was not the cause of its exit.

Rivals including Bolt and inDrive have signalled they intend to take the trips Uber leaves behind. For the commission the immediate question is narrower: whether prepaid rides, promotions or driver settlements were honoured when the app went dark. Until that review is finished, the 2 September shutdown stands as a market exit first and a consumer-protection case second.