By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has instituted a lawsuit against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe and other executives of the firm for allegedly impeding its investigation and failing to comply with lawful summons.
The suit, which is marked FHC/ABJ/CR/197/2025, was filed by the FCCPC legal team led by Barrister Nsitem Chizenum on Tuesday.
This is coming after over a month that the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed MultiChoice Nigeria Limited’s suit seeking to uphold its DStv and GOtv price increases in Nigeria.
The court ruled against Multichoice request on May 8, 2025. However, in the suit which has the FCCPC has litigant, John Ugbe, Gozie Onumonu, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, and five others of the MultiChoice Nigeria Limited were named as defendants.
According to the charge sheet, the consumers’ protection commission accused MultiChoice of failing without sufficient cause to appear before it on 6th March, 2025, in compliance with summons dated 25th February, 2025.
The Commission described the development as an offence against the FCCPC Act. The Commission alleged that Adewunmi Ogunsanya, John Ugbe, and others, “being Directors of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited on or about the 6th day of March, 2025, at 23 Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Court, caused the aforesaid MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to fail to produce documents which the Company was required to produce, in compliance with a lawful summons issued and dated 25 February, 2025, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3 of the FCCPC Act 2018″.
FCCPC blamed the CEO and the Pay TV directors for the non-appearance alleging that the purpose was to cause MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to impede its investigation by refusing to produce documents.
Speaking at the resumption of the court sitting on Tuesday, the FCCPC lawyer informed Justice James Omotosho that aside from MultiChoice, the defendants are yet to be personally served with the charge.
Delivering his ruling Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter to October 7, 2025 for arraignment.
