DStv Price Hike: Court Fixes May 8 for Final Judgment

• A Federal High Court in Abuja has set May 8 for judgment in the case between MultiChoice Nigeria (DStv, GOtv) and the FCCPC over price increases.
• MultiChoice argues that the FCCPC has no legal power to regulate or stop price hikes, accusing the commission of unfairly targeting it.
• The FCCPC insists it is not fixing prices but investigating possible price exploitation, urging the court to dismiss the case.

A Federal High Court in Abuja, led by Justice James Omotosho, has set May 8 as the judgment date for the case between MultiChoice Nigeria, the owners of DStv and GOtv, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). The court made this decision after hearing arguments from both sides.

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MultiChoice took the FCCPC to court to prevent it from taking action after the company increased the prices of its DStv and GOtv subscriptions.

The company argued that the FCCPC does not have the legal right to control or stop price increases.

Its lawyer, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), stated that the FCCPC is not empowered by law to regulate prices and that even the President, who has the authority to do so, has chosen not to interfere with market prices.

He also accused the FCCPC of unfairly targeting MultiChoice, pointing out that other businesses have increased their prices without facing similar scrutiny.

On the other hand, the FCCPC, represented by Prof. Joe Agbugu (SAN), argued that its role is not to fix prices but to investigate whether price increases are excessive and unfair to consumers.

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The commission believes that MultiChoice has a dominant position in the market and should be checked for possible price exploitation.

Agbugu insisted that the FCCPC’s mandate is to consumers from unfair pricing and urged the court to dismiss the case, allowing the commission to continue its investigation.

The court will now give its final ruling on May 8.