A class action suit led by Uche Diala, joined by 961 fellow subscribers, sought to challenge MultiChoice Nigeria over what they called arbitrary and exploitative subscription hikes in November 2023 and May 2024.

Their demands?

A rollback of the increases, and a shift to a pay-as-you-view model—similar to what MultiChoice offers in other countries like South Africa.

But their legal challenge hit a wall.

MultiChoice fired back with a preliminary objection, insisting that pricing decisions were not within the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal’s (CCPT) jurisdiction.

According to their lawyers, the claimants had also jumped the gun by filing as a class action without first securing the tribunal’s leave.

Justice Thomas Okosun, who chaired the three-member panel, agreed. He declared that pricing and tariff regulation lie squarely under the President’s authority, as outlined by the Price Control Act—not within the tribunal’s reach.

“The issue of price regulation is a matter that falls within the exclusive purview of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Justice Okosun emphasized.

Although the tribunal conceded it has jurisdiction in some regulatory disputes under the FCCPC Act, it made clear this does not extend to blanket price control—unless market dominance abuse is proven, which the claimants failed to do.

While the tribunal noted that the claimants had a common cause, it nonetheless upheld MultiChoice’s objection and dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

“This suit is accordingly struck out for want of jurisdiction,” the panel ruled, echoing a precedent set just weeks earlier.

Back on May 8, the Federal High Court in Abuja had similarly sided with MultiChoice, ruling that the FCCPC had no legal authority to fix or freeze pay-TV subscription rates.

For Nigerian subscribers seeking relief from spiraling prices, that’s now two strikes in court—with no clear path to a third.

The company had previously increased its prices, but the court ruled that the hike was unjustified. According to reports, the company has lost over a million subscribers in Nigeria due to the price increase.

The price hike was implemented to align with market realities following high inflation in Nigeria and the naira’s devaluation.

The old prices are as follows: DStv Premium package: N29,500 (down from N37,000); DStv Compact+ package: N19,800 (down from N25,000); DStv Compact Bouquet: N12,500 (down from N15,700); DStv Confam package: N7,400 (down from N9,300); DStv Yanga package: N4,200 (down from N5,100); DStv Padi package: N2,950 (down from N3,600).

GOtv subscribers will also see a reduction in prices, which is as follows: GOtv Super+ package: N12,500 (down from N15,700); GOtv Super package: N7,600 (down from N9,600); GOtv Max package: N5,700; GOtv Joli package: N3,950; GOtv Jinja package: N2,700 (down from N3,300).

It is not clear if MultiChoice will also offer a month-free subscription as ordered by the court. However, the company has promised to challenge the court order, saying the ruling does not favour its business model.

The three-member tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, gave the interim order following an ex-parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for the applicant, Festus Onifade.

The tribunal, in a ruling, restrained MultiChoice from going ahead with impending price increase schedule to take effect from May 1, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.

Reacting to the tribunal’s ruling, Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, the founder and chairman of Tekedia Capital and the lead faculty at Tekedia Institute, a tech-powered business school, operating 100% online, said although the court has aborted MultiChoice’s plan to raise prices of its products, he however disagrees with ‘this playbook by our courts’.

A post on Prof. Ekekwe’s verified X handle reads:

“What a nation: ‘A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, has ordered the stoppage of the planned increase in DStv and GOtv subscription prices by Multichoice Nigeria.’ Yes, a court has aborted MultiChoice’s plan to raise prices of its products.

“Good People, I do not like this playbook by our courts. I hate it when courts influence markets this way. Yes, I do not understand how watching the European Champions League is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution for the judges to become this involved over years, on this matter.

“I do not live in Nigeria to care about DStv. But what I know is that DStv’s core product (European football) is a foreign product, created in Europe. If MultiChoice does its agreements every 5 years, there is a likelihood that it paid for its current rights when Naira was going for say N415/$. It paid the Europeans in foreign currency and never in Naira. If that remains the case, and with Naira hovering around N1000/$, if MultiChoice does not increase price, it has to be assessed for running a charity.

“Last year, MultiChoice recorded massive losses in its business. That is partly coming because it has struggled to align its prices, as courts have made that nearly impossible. Indeed, MultiChoice offers customers multiple choices, but here, it has only a single choice to remain in business: jack up prices since it cannot return to Europe to renegotiate rates because the Naira has crashed! But Nigerian courts do not agree!

“That is unfortunate!”

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The three-member tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, gave the interim order following an ex-parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for the applicant, Festus Onifade.

The tribunal, in a ruling, restrained MultiChoice from going ahead with impending price increase schedule to take effect from May 1, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.

“The 1st defendant is hereby restrained from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” Shafii declared.

She, therefore, directed all parties in the suit to appear before tribunal on May 7 at 10 a.m. for the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Onifade, in the suit marked: CCPT/OP/2/2024, had dragged Multi-Choice Nigeria Ltd and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) before the tribunal.

In the suit filed on April 29, Onifade, also a legal practitioner, sought two orders.

These include, “an order of interim injunction of this honourable tribunal restraining the 1st defendant whether by themselves, her privies, assigns by whatsoever name called from going ahead with impending price increase schedule to take effect from 1st May, 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“An order restraining the 1st defendant from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.”

Other members of the tribunal include Thomas Okosun and Dr. Umar Duhu.

NAN reports that the company had, on April 1, 2022, hike the prices of all its packages.

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The Company has jacked up the prices of its offerings in Nigeria four months after its last increment.

The company reviewed prices in its packages across the board. The new prices will take effect from May 1, 2024.

DStv and GOtv New Subscription Rates from May 1, 2024:

With the latest price hike, the DStv Premium package increased from N29,500 to N37,000. Similarly, the DStv Compact+ gone up N19,800 to N25,000 while the Compact package increased from N12,500 to N15,700.

The Comfam package moved from N7,400 to N9,300. Yanga package moved up from 4,200 to N5,100 while Padi package increased from N2,950 to N3,600. HDPVR was increased from N4,000 to N5,000, the Access Fees package from N4,000 to N5,000, and XtraView moved from N4,000 to N5,000.

Meanwhile, the Gotv Supa+ package moved from N12,500 to N15,700, Supa package from N7,600 to N9,600, and Max package from N5,700 to N7,200.

While the Jolli package was jacked up from N3,950 to N4,850, the Jinja package moved from N2,700 to N3,300, and Smallie package from N1,300 to N1,575.

The company implemented an upward review of prices in December 2023, days after announcing a $72m loss in its financial statement for the third quarter of the year.

Checks on the company’s reviewed price list then showed a 20 per cent per cent hike in the company’s packages across the board.