FG to arraign MultiChoice Nigeria CEO for impeding investigation
The Nigerian government, through its agency, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), is set to arraign John Ugbe, Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, and other executives of the firm for obstructing its investigation and failing to comply with a lawful summons.
This is according to a charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/197/2025, filed by the FCCPC legal team led by Barrister Nsitem Chizenum.
This follows a May 8, 2025, ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed MultiChoice Nigeria Limited’s suit seeking to uphold its DStv and GOtv price increases in Nigeria.
In the charge sheet, where John Ugbe, Gozie Onumonu, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, and five others were named as defendants, MultiChoice Nigeria Limited was accused of failing without adequate cause to appear before the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on 6th March, 2025, in compliance with a summons dated 25th February, 2025.
The Commission described the development as an offence against the FCCPC Act.
The Commission alleged that Adewunmi Ogunsanya, John Ugbe, and others, “being Directors of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited on or about the 6th day of March, 2025, at 23 Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Court, caused the aforesaid MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to fail to produce documents which the Company was required to produce in compliance with a lawful summons issued and dated 25 February, 2025, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3 of the FCCPC Act 2018″.
The CEO and the Pay TV directors were further alleged to have caused MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to impede the investigation of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission by refusing to produce documents.
When the court resumed sitting on Tuesday, the FCCPC lawyer informed Justice James Omotosho that aside from MultiChoice, the defendants have yet to be personally served with the charge.
Given that, Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter to October 7, 2025, for arraignment.
Earlier, Justice Omotoso had dismissed a suit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria against the FCCPC.
