The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has sealed the Abuja office of TLSContact, a visa application support service provider, following alleged repeated assaults on regulatory officers and obstruction of an ongoing investigation.
FCCPC officials, accompanied by police and other security personnel, stormed the facility on Thursday, June 19, ordering staff to vacate the premises before sealing the building as part of enforcement action against the company.
Boladale Adeyinka, Director of the FCCPC’s Surveillance and Investigation Department, told reporters during the operation that TLSContact had committed multiple infractions that warranted the closure, including physical attacks on law enforcement officers and refusal to cooperate with regulatory procedures.
The regulatory action stems from a customer complaint received by the Commission on March 25, 2025, regarding TLSContact’s visa processing services. According to Adeyinka, the company’s response to the complaint triggered a series of confrontational incidents.
“Instead of responding in accordance with the complaint resolution procedures laid out under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), staff of TLSContact assaulted our officers,” Adeyinka stated.
Following the reported assault, the Commission issued a summons under Section 33 of the FCCPA, ordering TLSContact to appear before the regulatory body. However, Adeyinka revealed that the company’s staff not only refused to accept the summons but allegedly committed a second assault on FCCPC personnel and uniformed police officers providing lawful security during the investigation.
“In view of this pattern of obstruction and physical aggression, the executive vice chairman of the Commission, Tunji Bello, approved the sealing of the TLSContact facility for allegedly offering services that the Commission considers unlawful under the FCCPA,” Adeyinka explained.
The director disclosed that the initial regulatory intervention was prompted by a customer’s complaint that TLSContact had failed to provide visa services despite receiving full payment from the client.
Adeyinka noted that the Commission continued to receive complaints from Nigerian customers at the company’s location, alleging they had been defrauded by the business, even during the enforcement exercise.
During the sealing operation, a TLSContact representative was observed receiving a fresh summons from the Commission. The document, addressed to the country manager, requires the company to appear before the FCCPC on Friday, June 20.
The closure of TLSContact’s Abuja office represents a significant enforcement action by the consumer protection agency, highlighting the Commission’s commitment to protecting Nigerian consumers and ensuring compliance with regulatory procedures.
The incident underscores growing tensions between regulatory bodies and service providers in Nigeria’s visa application sector, where customer complaints about poor service delivery and financial irregularities have become increasingly common.
TLSContact provides visa application support services for Nigerians seeking to travel to various countries, making the facility’s closure potentially disruptive for visa applicants who rely on the company’s services.
The outcome of Friday’s scheduled appearance before the FCCPC will likely determine the next steps in the regulatory action against TLSContact and the conditions under which the facility might be permitted to resume operations.
