MultiChoice Nigeria’s CEO John Ugbe and several company directors are set to be arraigned by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for allegedly blocking an ongoing investigation into their subscription price increases.
In February 2025, Daily Tech Nigeria reported that the FCCPC ordered MultiChoice to maintain its current prices for DStv and GOtv while the commission reviewed the company’s proposed price hike. Despite this directive, MultiChoice went ahead with the increase on March 1, 2025, before appearing at the FCCPC’s investigative hearing scheduled for March 6. This action triggered legal proceedings against the company and its leadership.
The FCCPC filed charges at the Federal High Court in Lagos on three counts under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018. These include willfully obstructing the commission’s inquiry, ignoring instructions to suspend the price hike, and attempting to mislead the commission by proceeding without objection.
The commission views these acts as deliberate attempts to undermine regulatory authority and harm consumer rights.
The legal battle intensified when MultiChoice filed a suit to stop the FCCPC’s investigation, but the Abuja Federal High Court dismissed the case in May 2025, calling it an abuse of court process. This ruling cleared the way for the FCCPC to continue its probe and now to arraign the company’s CEO and directors for non-compliance.
The charge sheet names John Ugbe, Gozie Onumonu, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, and five other directors as defendants. They are accused of failing to produce documents required by a lawful summons issued on February 25, 2025, violating Section 3 of the FCCPC Act.
The arraignment is scheduled for October 7, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A statement from the FCCPC’s legal team said, “The defendants failed without sufficient cause to comply with lawful summons, obstructing the commission’s investigation.”
