The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a lawsuit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited (Ltd.) seeking to uphold it’s recent price hikes for DStv and GOtv services in the country.
While delivering the judgement on Thursday, May 8 Justice James Omotosho described the lawsuit filed by MultiChoice as an abuse of court process.
The judge had earlier issued a temporary order last month, preventing the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) from taking any action against MultiChoice after it announced the price hikes.
During the court proceeding, MultiChoice’s legal counsel, Moyosore J. Onigbanjo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed the case under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/379/2025, claiming that despite the pending court case, the FCCPC continued to send letters demanding the company stop the price increase, with threats of penalties.
The FCCPC had earlier summoned MultiChoice to justify its decision, instructing the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to attend an investigative hearing which took place on Thursday, February 27.
The Commission raised concerns about repeated price hikes, potential abuse of its dominant market position, and possible anti-competitive practices.
However, MultiChoice’s legal team asked the court to stop the FCCPC from punishing or interfering with the company over its pricing, referencing a letter dated Monday, March 3,
They also requested a declaration that the FCCPC does not have legal authority to control or prevent the company’s pricing decisions.
Onigbanjo argued that Nigeria operates under a free-market system where companies are allowed to set their own prices without regulatory approval.
He stated that neither the FCCPC Act nor any related law gives the Commission power to control pricing.
Also at another court hearing on Wednesday, March 27 FCCPC’s lawyer, Prof. Joe Agbugu (SAN), countered that MultiChoice’s claims were baseless because the Commission had not tried to regulate prices directly.
Instead, it was investigating the abuse of market dominance, which it is legally empowered to do.
In response, Onigbanjo insisted that the FCCPC’s concerns about high pricing came only after the legal case was filed, arguing that the Commission’s authority does not cover price regulation.
Justice Omotosho then postponed the verdict to Thursday, May 8.
However, during the ruling which took place on Thursday, May 8 Justice Omotosho ruled that because MultiChoice failed to issue a pre-action notice (a legal requirement before suing), the case was invalid.
He stated that such a requirement can be waived if the opposing party doesn’t raise the issue in court.
The judge mentioned that since the FCCPC did not raise the issue of the pre-action notice during proceedings, the court considered that requirement waived.
Justice Omotosho then went ahead to dismiss MultiChoice’s lawsuit in its entirety.
He said, “This is an abuse of court process.
“I hold that the plaintiff (MultiChoice) in this instant suit could have ventilated his grievance before the previous pending suit.”
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