Court dismisses MultiChoice suit, affirms FCCPC’s investigative mandate on price hikes

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Federal High Court on Thursday struck out MultiChoice Nigeria Limited’s suit seeking to restrain the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) from investigating its recent DStv and GOtv price increases, ruling the suit an abuse of court process due to pending similar proceedings elsewhere.

This was made known in a statement on Thursday by the FCCPC Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu.

Presiding Justice James Omotosho declared the application improper and duplicative, emphasising that the FCCPC’s authority to investigate pricing practices is backed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018. The court upheld that Section 88 of the FCCPA empowers the President to regulate prices and delegate enforcement to agencies like the FCCPC, which also has powers under Section 17 to investigate exploitative pricing and report to the President.

MultiChoice had defied FCCPC’s February invitation to explain the price hikes and proceeded with the increases despite the Commission’s directive to suspend them pending investigation.

The FCCPC’s legal team was led by Prof. Joseph Abugu (SAN), while MultiChoice’s was led by Mr. J. Onigbanjo (SAN).

In reaction, FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman Tunji Bello described the ruling as a strong endorsement of regulatory oversight, stating, “It sends a clear message that regulatory agencies will not be hindered by procedural roadblocks when exercising their lawful mandate to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in the marketplace.”

He assured consumers of the Commission’s commitment to addressing exploitative pricing and protecting consumer interests under the FCCPA 2018.