An attempt to restrain the Delta State Signage and Advertisement Agency (DESSA) from collecting levies on billboards, signposts, and other forms of outdoor advertising across the state has met a brick wall following the dismissal of a law suit filed in that regard by an Asaba High Court.
The suit, instituted by the Billboard Owners and Outdoor Practitioners Association of Delta State, challenged the legal authority of the Delta State Government and DESSA to issue demand notices and collect fees for outdoor advertising.
Court records showed that the action was filed in July 2025, and in response, the Delta State Government opposed the suit, maintaining that DESSA was empowered under existing laws to regulate outdoor advertising in the state and collect the associated levies.
The plaintiffs relied on an earlier judgment delivered by a High Court in Warri, which they argued had restrained the state and its agencies from collecting advertising levies, and urged the Court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining DESSA from further collections.
However, the state government, in a counter claim, argued that the suit was incompetent and improperly instituted, as the issues raised were contentious and could not be resolved without the presentation of full evidence.
The government also drew the Court’s attention to recent Supreme Court decisions, as well as a 2024 amendment to the Delta State signage and advertising law, which expressly vested DESSA with the authority to regulate and collect levies on outdoor advertising.
Existing agreements between the state and local governments were also cited in support of DESSA’s mandate.
At the hearing of the matter on January 21, 2026, Counsel to the billboard owners, C. E. Obiazi, Esq., informed the Court that his clients had decided to withdraw the suit.
Counsel for the Delta State Government, S. O. Monye, Esq., urged the Court not to merely strike out the case but to dismiss it outrightly, arguing that both parties had already fully argued their positions.
In his ruling, the presiding Judge agreed with the submissions of the state government and dismissed the suit, thereby bringing the legal challenge against DESSA’s authority to an end.
Following the judgment, members of the public have been urged to disregard misleading interpretations and false claims circulating on social media suggesting that DESSA lacks the legal authority to regulate signage and collect advertising levies in.Delta State.
