MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) have both approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking clarity over the ongoing legal tussle surrounding MultiChoice’s controversial DStv and GOtv price increases in Nigeria.
According to documents obtained by 9am News report, both the pay-TV giant and the competition watchdog have filed separate notices of appeal and cross-appeal, challenging parts of the May 8, 2025, judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court.
Justice Omotosho had dismissed MultiChoice’s suit, ruling that the case amounted to an abuse of court process due to a similar pending suit filed by lawyer Festus Onifade. The judge maintained that Nigeria operates a free-market economy where only the President has the power to regulate prices directly — a position that limited the FCCPC’s powers to only advisory roles unless delegated by an official instrument.
Omotosho also faulted the FCCPC for issuing a directive suspending MultiChoice’s planned price increase without first concluding an investigation.
MultiChoice, represented by senior lawyer Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), has asked the Court of Appeal to set aside parts of Omotosho’s verdict. The company raised three key points:
- The judge wrongly declared its suit an abuse of process.
- The judge acted unilaterally by raising the issue of a pending related suit without inviting both parties to respond.
- The dismissal order was flawed — the correct order, MultiChoice argues, should have been to strike out the suit, which would have allowed the company to refile if necessary.
MultiChoice insists that the FCCPC has no statutory powers to regulate its subscription prices in a free market, arguing that it acted within its rights to fix prices based on economic conditions like inflation and operating costs.
FCCPC’s Counter-Appeal
Meanwhile, the FCCPC, through its lead counsel Prof. Joseph Abugu (SAN), filed an eight-point appeal challenging aspects of the High Court judgment that curtailed its oversight powers.
Key FCCPC positions include:
- The Commission has every right to issue interim directives stopping price hikes while investigating potential abuse of dominance.
- The FCCPC is not engaged in price fixing, but rather preventing unscrupulous business practices under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA).
- The trial court erred by concluding the FCCPC failed to prove that MultiChoice holds a dominant market position. The FCCPC insists its evidence of repeated, significant price hikes was clear and unchallenged.
The Commission also rejected the court’s observation that other pay-TV providers were not equally scrutinized, noting that the application before the court specifically concerned MultiChoice and did not extend to a broader industry probe.
As it stands, the High Court’s ruling remains valid unless suspended by a stay of execution order. The Court of Appeal has yet to fix a date for hearing the appeals.
This fresh legal face-off highlights the delicate balance between protecting consumer rights and respecting free-market dynamics in Nigeria’s broadcast sector.
MultiChoice announced the contentious subscription price increase for its DStv and GOtv packages to take effect from March 1, 2025 less than a year after a similar hike in May 2024. The company blamed high inflation and rising operating costs for the repeated increases.
The planned hike sparked outrage among Nigerians, many of whom have long complained about MultiChoice’s near-monopoly in the pay-TV market. The backlash prompted the FCCPC’s intervention and calls for fairer practices to protect subscribers.
In a bid to soften public anger and win back customers, MultiChoice slashed the price of its decoder by 50% in June 2025 from N20,000 to N10,000 even as the larger pricing dispute remains unresolved.
The final outcome of this legal battle will significantly shape the future of pay-TV pricing and consumer protection in Nigeria’s broadcast industry. All eyes are now on the Appeal Court to decide whether MultiChoice can freely fix prices or whether the FCCPC can enforce checks to protect millions of Nigerian subscribers.
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