The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) is set to arraign MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, its CEO John Ugbe, and several Pay TV directors for allegedly obstructing an investigation and failing to comply with official summons regarding their service practices.
This is outlined in charge sheet FHC/ABJ/CR/197/2025, filed by the FCCPC’s legal team led by Nsitem Chizenum Esq., and obtained by Nairametrics.The charges follow a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja on May 8, 2025, which dismissed a suit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited that sought to validate recent DStv and GOtv price hikes in the country.
According to the court filing, John Ugbe, Gozie Onumonu, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, and five others are named as defendants. MultiChoice Nigeria Limited is accused of failing to appear before the FCCPC on March 6, 2025, as directed by a lawful summons issued on February 25, 2025.
The Commission described this failure as a violation of the FCCPC Act. It further alleged that Ugbe, Ogunsanya, and other directors caused the company to withhold documents requested by the Commission, constituting an offence under Section 3 of the FCCPC Act 2018.
The accused executives are also alleged to have hindered the Commission’s investigation by refusing to submit required documents.During Tuesday’s court session, the FCCPC counsel informed Justice James Omotosho that while MultiChoice Nigeria Limited had been notified, the individual defendants had not yet been personally served with the charges. The judge subsequently adjourned the matter to October 7, 2025, for arraignment. Earlier, Justice Omotosho had ruled that the lawsuit filed by MultiChoice challenging the FCCPC’s oversight was an abuse of court process.
Previously, the judge had issued an interim order restraining the FCCPC from initiating administrative actions against MultiChoice following its announcement of new subscription rates. The Commission had invited the company’s CEO to an investigative hearing scheduled for February 27, 2025, expressing concern about frequent price hikes, potential market dominance, and anti-competitive conduct in the pay-TV sector.
The FCCPC warned that failure to justify the price increases or comply with fair market practices could lead to sanctions. MultiChoice’s legal counsel, led by Onigbanjo, filed a separate case to block the FCCPC from pursuing prosecution, referencing a letter dated March 3, 2025, and claiming a denial of fair hearing. That suit was dismissed by the court, which ruled it constituted a misuse of judicial process.
Source: https://nairametrics.com/
