Multichoice Nigeria, a prominent Pay TV company, has filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Abuja, challenging the recent ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) that imposed a fine of N150 million and a “free monthly subscription order” on the company.

The appeal seeks to set aside the CCPT’s decision, with Multichoice arguing that the Tribunal “erred in law” on several grounds.
In its notice of appeal, Multichoice presents eight reasons why the Court of Appeal should overturn the CCPT’s ruling. The company claims that it was not given a fair hearing to explain its position on the price hike and that the Tribunal should not have entertained a complaint that had not been decided by the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Council.
Multichoice also asserts that the issue of its price hike had been previously determined by the Tribunal, making it a violation of legal procedures for the panel to preside over the same matter again. The company points out that the lawyer who filed the complaint did not request the N150 million penalty or the one-month free subscription fine, and the Tribunal imposed these penalties without hearing from all of Multichoice’s subscribers.

Furthermore, Multichoice argues that the Tribunal erroneously imposed a substantial fine based on the lawyer’s personal issues with his subscription package and that the Tribunal hastily imposed the fine without hearing all pending applications related to the price hike. The company maintains that a tribunal cannot regulate prices and that it did not disobey the Tribunal’s order, as it had filed an application challenging the Tribunal’s authority to preside over the matter.

Multichoice is seeking an order from the Court of Appeal to set aside the CCPT’s ruling and orders delivered on June 7, 2024. In response, the CCPT has stated that it will review the reasons identified by Multichoice and may involve regulatory bodies such as the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in the process.