The Competition and Consumer Protection (CCP) tribunal has fined MultiChoice N100,000 amid a case against the company involving subscription price hike and contempt of court, IgbereTV reports
MultiChoice was penalised by the tribunal on Thursday for failing to provide a response to a substantive suit regarding the price hike after the three-member tribunal presided over by Thomas Okosun gave tbe firm 21 days to do so.
In its defense, MultiChoice’s lawyer, Jamiu Agoro, said the tribunal needed to resolve the issue about jurisdiction before judging the substantive suit, as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) was the appropriate authority to first hear the case.
Agoro explained that the tribunal can only be approached if the complainant, legal practitioner, Festus Onifade, is not satisfied with the FFCPC resolution.
However, Onifade said he tabled the issue before FCCPC since May 2020, on behalf of himself and the Nigerian consumer, but the commission has not acted on his case, hence, his reason for approaching the tribunal.
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Meanwhile, Onifade said MultiChoice violated the order of the tribunal, after the court issued an ex-parte on March 30, 2022, directing the company to maintain status quo and not increase its subscription.
MultiChoice had disclosed before then that it will raise subscription price on April 1, and it will go ahead with the hike despite the tribunal ordering it to suspend the decision. Agoro claimed that the mechanisms had already been put in place to automatically implement before the tribunal’s directive.
