The claimants had sued the consumer protection commission along with MultiChoice, operator of DSTV and GOTV in Nigeria, over the hike in the pay TV operator’s prices.
The Competition and Consumer Protection (CCPC) Tribunal in Abuja, on Tuesday, dismissed a suit challenging Multichoice’s recent hike of its subscriptions for products and services.
A lawyer, Festus Onifade, and the Coalition of Nigeria Consumers had filed a petition against the hike in the prices of Multichoice’s products in Nigeria.
They also demanded that the pay TV firm should be ordered to adopt a ‘pay-as-you-view’ TV subscription plan as it does in other countries.
The petitioners jointly sued the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) along with MultiChoice, a South African firm, and operator of DSTV and GOTV in Nigeria, at the tribunal.
Judgement
Delivering judgement in the case on Tuesday, a three-member panel of the tribunal chaired by Thomas Okosun held that the power to regulate prices of goods and services does not reside in the FCCPC, the regulatory agency.
In its unanimous decision, the panel said the power to regulate prices of goods and services lies with the president.
It ruled that “the price increase is valid”, adding that only the president, and not the has the power to regulate or fix the prices of goods and services.
“Only the president has the powers to regulate or fix prices of goods and services under stipulated circumstances which do not apply in this instance,” it held.
The tribunal added that the claimants failed to prove how they suffered “psychological trauma, hardship or violation of their human rights” resulting from the tariff hike.
‘Claimants failed to prove Multichoice abuse of market dominance’
In its findings, the tribunal also held that Mr Onifade and the Coalition of Nigeria Consumers failed to prove that MultiChoice abused its market dominance in the pay television market.
The tribunal chairman who read the verdict, held that the claimants failed to demonstrate how the price hike occasioned “psychological trauma, hardship or violation of their human rights.”
In addition, Mr Okosun noted that MultiChoice cannot be held liable for the failure of the FCCPC to perform its statutory duty of adjudicating on complaints from aggrieved consumers.
The panel also rejected Mr Onifade’s request to direct MultiChoice to adopt a pay-as-you-view model of billing for all its products and services.
It equally also dismissed the claimants’ demand for a N10 million damages.
Claimants’ gains
Despite dismissing the suit, the tribunal, as PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier, ordered FCCPC to investigate the claimants’ claims concerning ‘pay-as-you-view’ subscription model as being operational in South Africa.
It held that the consumer protection commission took appropriate measures to probe the concerns raised in the claimants suit.
The panel also ordered the management of MultiChoice to produce their 2021 audited financial report before it on 8 September.
This, the panel ruled, is to “enable the tribunal to determine the appropriate penalty to impose on MultiChoice for being in contempt of the orders of this honourable tribunal made in March.”
The tribunal, on 30 March, issued an ex-parte order directing parties to the suit to maintain the status quo, pending the determination of the whole suit. But MultiChoice disregarded the restraining order by going ahead to increasing the price of its products and services.
Tuesday’s proceedings had in attendance Multichoice’s head of regulatory affairs, Gozie Onumonu.
Background
Multichoice’s announcement earlier in the year to hike its subscription rates with effect from 1 April, triggered the claimant’s suit.
In court filings, Mr Onifade urged the tribunal to issue an order restraining Multichoice from increasing subscriptions for its TV services on 1 April, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed on March 30.
Agreeing with Mr Onifade, the tribunal granted the ex-parte application, directing parties to maintain “status quo antebellum.”
But in breach of the order, Multichoice did an upward review of its subscriptions, while the suit was pending.
Multichoice had announced new rates for its offerings in Nigeria, the firm’s latest price increase that is bound to irk its customers.
The firm said from 1 April, subscribers will pay more for all its bouquets and its premium package on DSTV will cost N21,000, no longer N18,400.
Compact Plus which cost N12,400 before will now go for N14,250, while Compact will cost N9,000 instead of N7,900.
Multichoice had argued that it did not comply with the order because the process of tariff increment had been configured and deployed before the interim order was made.