•Orders one-month free subscriptions for Nigerian customers
The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, on Friday, directed Multichoice Nigeria, the owners of DSTV and GoTv services, to pay N150million fines for disobeying its orders, which restrained the pay-TV company from increasing its monthly subscription pending the determination of the suit brought before it.
The tribunal also ordered the pay-TV company to provide its Nigerian customers with a one-month free subscription to its DStv and GOtv packages.
It is instructive to note that the tribunal had previously ordered Multichoice not to increase its subscription fees without proper notice, following a lawsuit filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Festus Onifade, who said the 8-day notice given for the price increase was inadequate.
But Multichoice had claimed that previous rulings had settled price regulation issues.
Onifade further insisted the length of notice was inadequate and more pressing than the price hike itself, prompting the tribunal to affirm its jurisdiction and ruling against Multichoice.
The tribunal has fixed July 3 for the hearing of the substantive suit of Onifade.
