On Monday, a Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) in Abuja issued an interim order restraining MultiChoice Nigeria Limited from increasing its tariffs and costs of products and services, which were scheduled to take effect on May 1.
The three-member tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, granted the ex-parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for the applicant, Festus Onifade.
In the ruling, the tribunal prohibited Multi-Choice from proceeding with the impending price increase, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.
Shafii said:
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“The first defendant is hereby restrained 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.”
The tribunal directed all parties involved to appear before it on May 7 at 10:00 am for the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
Onifade, in the suit, marked CCPT/OP/2/2024, had filed a lawsuit against Multi-Choice Nigeria Ltd and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) before the tribunal.
In the suit, Onifade, a legal practitioner, sought two orders. The first was “an order of interim injunction of this honourable tribunal restraining the 1st defendant, whether by themselves or her privies, assigned by whatever name called, from going ahead with the impending price increase schedule to take effect on May 1, 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”
The second was “an order restraining the first 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.”
The other members of the tribunal include Thomas Okosun and Umar Duhu.
Reca that MultiChoice Nigeria had recently updated its price list, showing a 25 per cent increase in the price of its packages across the board. The new price increase came just four months after a previous hike in price last December.
According to the updated price list, DStv Premium package increased by 25.4 per cent from N29,500 to N37,000.
Similarly, the DStv Compact+ has gone up by 20.8 per cent from N19,800 to N25,000, while the Compact package increased by 20.3% from N12,500 to N15,700, respectively.
The GOtv packages were also increased. For instance, Supa+ was increased from N12,500 to N15,700; Supa from N7,600 to N9,600; Max from N5,700 to N7,200; and Jolli from N3,950 to N4,850.
Stay tuned for more details…
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