The Federal High Court in Abuja has set a judgment date for the lawsuit filed by Multichoice Nigeria Limited against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCP).
Justice James Kolawole Omotosho revised Thursday’s trial date, and soon after, attorneys representing the parties and defending their written address to the lawsuit.
It is worth recalling that a few days ago the court restricted the committee from taking “any administrative step” against the plaintiffs after the price of service for both of its brands increased. DSTV and GOTV.
The restriction order is a sequel to Multichoice seeking the court to be protected from the FCCPC program, while prices for DSTV and GOTV rise.
At a hearing resumed Thursday, March 27, the court approved the committee’s request for an extension to regulate its procedures and also allowed the plaintiff to withdraw his application for an intermediate injunction that had been cancelled.
In the case, the case was filed through its chief attorney, Moyosore Onigbanjo San, who argued that the bone of the dispute was “whether the defendant has the right to control the price of the plaintiff’s service to the public.”
In recognizing the committee’s regulatory powers, the attorney argued that the bill to establish the FCCPC did not grant it the power to regulate prices or prevent anyone, including the plaintiff, from raising prices.
Onigbanjo pointed out the question of whether it is possible to regulate the price between the two parties, adding that the court ruled that the commission had no authority to regulate the price of goods and services in the country, except in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The plaintiff’s lawyer also stipulates that even the president with the ability to regulate prices maintains “his government does not believe in price control”, but that prices are determined by market forces in demand and supply.
In addition, the plaintiff also proposed that if the FCCPC does not have the power to control the price, “he has the right to prevent the plaintiff from rising.
Multichoice then accused FCCPC of discrimination, noting that all businesses in the country were in line with economic conditions and inflation without incurring commissions,
The Nigerian Multichoice urges the court to grant all relief sought in the lawsuit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/379/2025.
Professor Joe Agbugu, the defendant’s chief lawyer, urged the court to resolve the cause of litigation first; this is a matter of rising prices of DSTV and GOTV.
Agbugu revealed that after the commission came into effect on March 1, 2025, after the price increase was announced on February 25, the committee wrote to the plaintiff.
According to him, the multi-level convened a court meeting before the committee on February 27, “they wrote that it was not convenient and proposed on March 6. Then, we later said that during this period, they should stick to the price increase.”
Agbugu further noted: “There is no price regulation or fixed issue at the beginning of the action”.
Furthermore, he claimed that the regulations that established the FCCPC gave it the power to “check overpriced pricing” and the right to “regulate the abuse of major status in the market” because it is related to price and passing costs to consumers.
Agbugu claimed: “The plaintiffs dominate television and entertainment.” He added that the case before the court was not price regulation, but the committee’s power to investigate prices seen as being seen as exploitative and abuse of dominant.
“The committee is not about telling you to use price A or B, but to make sure the price is exploitative,” he said. They ran away and investigated their planned actions.
“Our action is not about pricing; the question is whether the price is too high… the committee’s task is to protect consumers.”
In response, Judge Omotosho announced: “The verdict is reserved for May 8”.
