Multichoice to Appeal N150 Million Fine, Free Subscription Order by Tribunal
Multichoice Nigeria has announced its intention to appeal Friday’s ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT), which imposed a N150 million fine on the company for challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
The CCPT also mandated that Multichoice provide Nigerians with a one-month free subscription to DStv and GOtv.
Previously, the tribunal had halted Multichoice’s subscription fee increase, ruling that the 8-day notice given was inadequate, following a suit by Festus Onifade.
In response, Multichoice disagreed with the ruling and confirmed it will appeal the decision.
Read Also:
The statement reads: “MultiChoice Nigeria is aware of the recent ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, CCPT, regarding its jurisdiction to entertain a price regulation matter.
“We disagree with the ruling, and will therefore file an appeal against said ruling.
“As the matter is currently sub judice, we are restrained from making further comments.”
Onifade, who sued Multi-Choice Nigeria Ltd and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, accused the pay-TV of unjustly increasing subscription fees without one-month notice to customers and leveraging on it to seek interim orders against Pay TV.
A three-member tribunal chaired by Saratu Shafii had ruled in favour of Onifade by restraining Multichoice in the interim, in the suit marked CCPT/OP/2/2024.
It restrained the pay TV from going ahead with the impending price increase scheduled to take effect from 1st May 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
