MultiChoice Nigeria Executives To Be Arraigned October 7 For ‘Obstructing’ FCCPC Probe
A federal high court sitting in Abuja has set October 7 as the date for the arraignment of Adewunmi Ogunsanya, chairman of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, and John Ugbe, the company’s managing director and CEO, over alleged breaches of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), 2018.
Other senior officials of the company listed for arraignment include Adebusola Bello, Fuad Ogunsanya, and Gozie Onumonu, head of regulatory affairs and government relations at MultiChoice Nigeria.
Additional names in the suit include Fhulufhelo Badugela, CEO of MultiChoice Africa Holdings; Retiel Tromp, chief financial officer for Africa; and Keabetswe Modimoeng, group executive for corporate affairs.
The FCCPC is pursuing a seven-count charge against the defendants in a case filed on May 26 with suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/197/2025.
One of the charges accuses MultiChoice Nigeria of failing to honour a lawful summons from the FCCPC dated February 25.
The company allegedly failed to appear before the commission on March 6 at its Asokoro office in Abuja without providing valid justification, an action the FCCPC considers an offence under section 33(3) of the FCCPA.
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Another charge claims that Ogunsanya, Ugbe, and the others obstructed the commission’s investigation by refusing to provide requested documents, which the FCCPC says violates section 110 of the Act.
During Tuesday’s court session, none of the defendants appeared, reportedly due to the improper service of court papers.
FCCPC counsel Chizenum Nsitem requested an adjournment to ensure proper delivery of hearing notices and associated legal documents.
Presiding judge James Omotosho approved the application and postponed the hearing to October 7 for the defendants to enter their plea.
Background
On February 24, MultiChoice had announced that new subscription prices for DStv and GOtv packages would take effect from March 1.
The changes reflected up to a 25 percent hike across multiple packages. DStv Compact rose from N15,700 to N19,000, Compact Plus moved from N25,000 to N30,000, DStv Premium increased from N37,000 to N44,500, and GOtv Supa Plus went from N15,700 to N16,800.
The announcement, which followed a previous hike about a year earlier, drew public backlash and prompted the FCCPC to step in.
The commission directed the CEO of MultiChoice Nigeria to appear for an investigative hearing at its office on February 27 regarding the planned price increase.
MultiChoice responded that the proposed date was inconvenient and suggested March 6 instead.
The FCCPC also instructed the company to suspend the price adjustment until the ongoing investigation was concluded.
Despite the directive, MultiChoice went ahead with the hike and filed a suit on March 3.
In a judgment delivered on May 8, the court dismissed the suit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria, describing it as an abuse of court process.
The judge clarified that although the FCCPC is empowered to investigate matters under its founding law, it does not have the authority to regulate or freeze prices unless specifically authorised by the president through an official gazette.
The ruling also emphasized that Nigeria operates a deregulated market system, allowing service providers like MultiChoice the freedom to set their own prices, leaving consumers with the option to accept or reject them.
The court further ruled that the FCCPC’s instruction for MultiChoice to halt the price increase infringed upon the company’s right to fair hearing and appeared to single out the company unfairly.
