On Monday, July 29, 2024, the lawsuit against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited was withdrawn and the case closed. Barrister Festus Onifade, who had filed the suit against MultiChoice and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), decided to withdraw his case.
MultiChoice had requested a delay in proceedings, which led the tribunal to reschedule the hearing to November 2024. Onifade withdrew the suit, fearing that the delay might be used by MultiChoice to hinder his case and appeal any court decision.
The tribunal, headed by Thomas Okosu, reviewed Order 6 Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules and found no obstacles to MultiChoice’s request for a stay of proceedings.
The case involved the company’s increases in subscription fees for DStv and GOtv. MultiChoice’s lawyer, Moyosore J. Onibanjo, requested an adjournment due to the company’s vacation period from July to September 2024, arguing they could only handle urgent matters during this time.
Onifade contested this, stating that MultiChoice could not control the tribunal’s schedule and refused the rescheduled date. Following Onifade’s withdrawal, the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) accepted his request.
In the case marked CCPT/OP/2/2024, Onifade had accused MultiChoice of raising subscription fees without the required one-month notice to customers in April 2024. He also claimed the company ignored a court order and went ahead with the price hike on May 1, 2024. This led him to seek contempt charges against MultiChoice’s Abuja Manager, Mohammed Sageer Sani.
Earlier, the tribunal had issued restraining orders against the price increases. Following Onifade’s actions, the tribunal dismissed a preliminary objection from MultiChoice’s lawyer, Moyosore Onibanjo (SAN), who had argued that the proceedings were unfair. As a result, the tribunal imposed a ₦150 million fine on MultiChoice and mandated a one-month free subscription for Nigerian users.
