The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) was sued by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, and a federal high court in Abuja upheld the increase in DStv and GOtv subscription costs.
The chief justice, James Omotoso, declared Thursday that the FCCPC has no authority to set or halt rates.
MultiChoice formally announced an increase in the DStv and GOtv package subscription costs on February 24 adding that the hike will take effect on March 1.
The statement prompted public outrage and prompted the FCCPC to step in, over a year after the company had raised its subscription fees.
The FCCPC responded by ordering MultiChoice Nigeria’s CEO to attend an investigative hearing at its headquarters on February 27 to discuss the company’s proposed increase in subscription prices.
On March 12, the commission was temporarily barred from taking “any administrative steps” against MultiChoice Nigeria by an ex parte decision issued by the presiding judge.
Omotoso stated in his ruling earlier today that although the FCCPC has investigative powers under its founding Act, it does not have the jurisdiction to fix or suspend pricing until the President expressly grants it this authority through a legal instrument.
“The power to fix prices is exclusively that of the President. Any decision taken without such delegation is a nullity,” he said.
According to the judge, Nigeria has a free market system, and service providers like MultiChoice are free to set their own prices, which customers are free to accept or reject.
Additionally, Omotoso decided that the FCCPC’s actions, which included ordering MultiChoice to halt its price hike, violated the company’s right to a fair hearing and seemed to be biased.
He disputed the FCCPC’s assertion that MultiChoice possessed a dominant market position, calling the reasoning absurd.
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[…] that DSTV had received backlash from users over its high subscription rates. This followed with a lawsuit on DSTV by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) however, the court upheld […]