A criminal case has been filed against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, its CEO John Ugbe, and some of the Pay TV directors.
MultiChoice Nigeria Limited are owners of DStv and GOtv.
The charge sheet, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/197/2025, was filed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The Commission will arraign the suspects for allegedly impeding its investigation and failing to comply with its lawful summons regarding its services.
According to Nairametrics, the case was filed by the FCCPC legal team led by Nsitem Chizenum Esq.
In the charge sheet, where John Ugbe, Gozie Onumonu, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, and five others were named as defendants, MultiChoice Nigeria Limited was accused of failing without sufficient cause to appear before the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on the 6th day of March, 2025, in compliance with its lawful summons dated 25th February, 2025.
The Commission described the development as an alleged 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.”
The CEO and the Pay TV directors were further alleged to have caused MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to impede the investigation of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission by refusing to produce documents.
At the resumed court session on Tuesday, the FCCPC lawyer informed Justice James Omotosho that aside from MultiChoice, the defendants are yet to be personally served with the charge.
In view of that, Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter to October 7, 2025, for arraignment.
NATIONAL POST recalls that a Federal High Court in Abuja had back dismissed MultiChoice Nigeria Limited’s suit on May 8, 2025, seeking to uphold its DStv and GOtv price increases in Nigeria.
Many Nigerians have been complaining about the high rate of DStv and GOtv subscription packages in the country.
However, despite stopping the company from effecting a further increment, it ignored the FCCPC.
Customers have also been advocating for per minute billing-system instead of the monthly subscription.