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Nigerian Court gets tough on DStv

August 31, 2018

By Chris Forrester

Earlier in August Nigeria’s Federal High Court ordered MultiChoice Nigeria to stop an increase in pay-TV subscription rates that it had imposed on its DStv service. The price hikes averaged some 7.5 per cent.

MultiChoice ignored the ruling, brought in an action by the nation’s Consumer Protection Council (CPC). The Court’s interim ruling was made pending a full hearing.

A Court session on August 29th heard the CPC’s director general tell Nigeria’s Minister of Justice, Abubaker Malami, that DStv had declined to accept the Court’s order.

The CPC’s Director-General, Babatunde Irukera, complained to the court about the conduct of MultiChoice in respect of the interim restraining order made on August 20th, directing the defendant to revert to status quo. Irukera argued that MultiChoice had “vowed” not to comply with the ruling.

Justice Dimgba, the presiding judge in the case, warned MultiChoice against taking any step that would over-reach the court, and adjourned the case untill September 3rd for hearing.

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