Price hike: Court to deliver judgment in MultiChoice, FCCPC suit May 8

A federal high court in Abuja has fixed May 8, for judgment in the suit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) over the recent hike in the subscription fees of DStv and GOtv services.

On February 24, MultiChoice officially announced an increase in the subscriptions prices of DStv and GOtv packages, with effect from March 1.

The adjustments saw prices increase by up to 25 percent across various packages, with DStv Compact rising from N15,700 to N19,000.

Compact Plus increased from N25,000 to N30,000; DStv Premium moved from N37,000 to N44,500 and GOtv Supa Plus moved from N15,700 to N16,800.

The announcement, which came nearly one year after the firm’s subscription rates were hiked, led to public criticism, forcing the FCCPC to intervene.

In response, the FCCPC directed the chief executive officer (CEO) of MultiChoice Nigeria to appear at its headquarters on February 27 for an investigative hearing to address the company’s planned subscription fees hike.

Multichoice responded by saying the date was inconvenient and picked March 6.

The agency also asked the pay-TV firm to halt the subscription price hike pending the ongoing probe.

However, MultiChoice proceeded with the price increase and instituted a suit on March 3.

Previously, James Omotosho, the presiding judge, granted an ex parte order on March 12, temporarily restraining the commission from taking “any administrative steps” against MultiChoice Nigeria.

THURSDAY’S PROCEEDING

Making a submission at the court session on Thursday, Moyosore Onigbanjo, Multichoice counsel, contended that FCCPC lacks the power to regulate prices since Nigeria operates a free-market economy based on the forces of demand and supply.

He said the FCCPC Act does not empower the commission to regulate prices, adding that only the president has such authority.

Onigbanjo insisted that FCCPC is being discriminatory against his client, noting that other service providers had also increased prices due to inflation and rising operational costs.

“The defendant is very discriminatory towards the conduct of the plaintiff contrary to Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution. We cannot be subjected to discriminatory practices. They suspended our prices without giving us fair hearing,” the senior advocate said.

Responding, Joe Agbugu, FCCPC’s counsel, insisted that the commission acted within its statutory mandate to protect Nigerian consumers from exploitative pricing.

He referenced Section 7, Section 17(e) (h) (1) and Section 88 to Section 91 of the FCCPC Act, which he said empowers the commission to investigate price increases, stop exploitative price increases, protect the consumers from unfair business practices and resolve complaints.

Agbugu also said Multichoice’s argument that the president is responsible for price fixing and regulation is “misleading”.

The senior lawyer, however, submitted that the crux of the matter before the court is not whether or not the commission can fix prices of the plaintiff, “instead, what is at play here is the power of the commission to interrogate pricing that is deemed exploitative or that is said to be of an unconscionable market practice”.

After taking arguments, the judge adjourned until May 8 for judgment.

Meanwhile, the FCCPC has also filed a lawsuit against MultiChoice Nigeria and John Ugbe, its chief executive officer (CEO), at the Lagos high court for “violating” regulatory directives and obstructing an ongoing inquiry.