The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) in Abuja has approved a request for substituted service of an interim order. This order prevents Multi-Choice Nigeria Limited from increasing tariffs on DStv and Gotv packages starting May 1.
The tribunal, led by Saratu Shafii, allowed the applicant’s motion after it was reported that the pay-TV company’s Abuja office staff declined to accept the order and related legal documents.
Festus Onifade, the applicant, informed the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the CCPT bailiff claimed a senior manager at the company’s Abuja office instructed that the documents should be sent to their Lagos headquarters.
Consequently, the tribunal issued the substituted service order in accordance with Section 48 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) of 2018 and Part N, Order 14 Rule 11(1) of the CCPT Rules of 2021.
According to the certified true copy of the substituted service order, Shafii ordered that the ex-parte order, under suit number CCPT/OP/2/2024, should be displayed at the corporate headquarters or any visible location of Multi-Choice Nigeria Limited’s branches nationwide.
She also ordered that the documents be sent to the company’s “known email address, social media handles, and any publicly known means of communication for MultiChoice,” and that they should also be posted in the CCPT communication outlet.
The documents have since been posted at the MultiChoice Abuja office located in Wuse II.
NAN reports that the tribunal, on Monday, halted MultiChoice from increasing its tariffs and the cost of products and services set to start today.
The panel, which issued the order following an ex-parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for the applicant, restrained the company from proceeding with the planned price increase pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.
Onifade, in the suit marked CCPT/OP/2/2024, had brought MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) before the tribunal.
In the suit filed on April 29, Onifade, who is also a legal practitioner, sought two orders:
First, “an order of interim injunction from this honorable tribunal restraining the first defendant, whether by themselves, their privies, assigns, or by whatsoever name called, from proceeding with the impending price increase scheduled to take effect from May 1, 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”
“An order restraining the 1st defendant from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.”
Multi-choice had recently announced a price increment across its DStv and GOtv packages effective May 1, 2024.
The pay-TV company claimed the price hike was due to the cost of business operations in Nigeria.
NAN reports that the company had, on April 1, 2022, hike the prices of all its packages despite public outcry.
Prior to the effective date, Onifade filed a suit before Thomas Okosun-led CCPT, seeking an order restraining multi-Choice from going ahead with planned increase, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice dated and filed on March 30, 2022.
Although the tribunal granted the ex-parte motion, directing parties to maintain status quo ante bellum, the company went ahead with the price increase on DStv and Gotv subscriptions and other products on the said date.
The claimant, however, raised the issue of contempt, accusing MultiChoice of disobeying the tribunal order which restrained them from going ahead with the price increase.
He accused the company of having penchant for disregard to court order.
And on April 11, 2022, after the arguments by counsel for the parties, the tribunal again ordered MultiChoice to revert back to the old prices by maintaining status quo of its March 30, 2022, order, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.
However, all these efforts were futile as MultiChoice’s counsel, Jamiu Agoro, contested the tribunal’s jurisdiction over the case, arguing that the claimant did not have the standing to initiate the action.
Agoro contended that the tribunal’s order on April 11, 2022, which directed MultiChoice to revert to previous rates, was issued after the fact, as the company had already raised its tariffs on April 1, 2022.
He maintained that MultiChoice had pre-configured all devices for the tariff increase before the tribunal’s order was given.
Furthermore, Agoro pointed out that the claimant had not presented any evidence of damages suffered to the tribunal.
Subsequently, the tribunal led by Thomas Okosun on September 6, 2022, dismissed Onifade’s lawsuit, stating that the authority to regulate the prices of goods and services does not belong to the FCCPC, the regulatory body.
The tribunal declared that the power to regulate the prices of goods and services is vested solely in the president.
Nonetheless, the decision has been appealed and is currently under review by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
In the current suit, Onifade argues that MultiChoice did not adhere to the due process of law as stipulated in Section 128 of the FCCPA, 2018, when announcing the price increase, citing the insufficient notice provided to customers.
