By Adedapo Adesanya
MultiChoice Nigeria has resolved to appeal Friday’s ruling of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal in Abuja, which awarded a N150 million fine against it.
The tribunal had fined MultiChoice Nigeria the sum of N150 million for disobeying its order.
The court had previously blocked MultiChoice from raising subscription fees without proper notice, based on a lawsuit by Mr Festus Onifade, a legal practitioner, who claimed the eight-day notice given for the price increase was inadequate.
The tribunal had also ordered the pay-TV company to provide its Nigerian customers with a one-month free subscription to its DStv and GOtv packages.
But reacting to the judgment through a statement, MultiChoice disagreed with the ruling and vowed to file an appeal against it.
“MultiChoice Nigeria is aware of the recent ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal regarding its jurisdiction to entertain a price regulation matter.
“We disagree with the ruling, and will therefore file an appeal against the said ruling.
“As the matter is currently sub-judice, we are restrained from making further comments,” the company said in the statement.
The counsel for Multichoice had contended that previous rulings had settled price regulation issues, while Mr Onifade focused on the inadequate notice rather than the price hike itself, prompting the tribunal to affirm its jurisdiction and rule against Multichoice.
The court subsequently fixed July 3 for a hearing of the plaintiff’s substantive suit.
In late April, the CCPT restrained Multichoice Nigeria Limited from increasing its tariffs and cost of products and services scheduled to begin on May 1.
The company had on April 1, 2024, hiked the prices of all its packages by as much as 25 per cent due to the challenging operational environment.
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