Lawyers Ask Court To Jail MultiChoice MD For Contempt

The Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, Mr.
John Ugbe may be sent to jail if found guilty of violating a
court order on its proposed 20 percent increment on DSTV
subscription fee.
According to Punch, two Lagos-based legal practitioners,
Oluyinka Oyeniji and Osasuyi Adebayo, have already
commenced contempt proceedings against Mr. John Ugbe
for hiking subscription fees on the DSTV when a subsisting
court order was against such hike.
If found guilty of the allegation , Ugbe, alongside the Public
Relations Manager of the company, Caroline Oghuma, is
likely to be jailed.
The lawyers had, on April 2, 2015, secured a court order of
interim injunction restraining MultiChoice from giving effect
to its proposed 20 per cent increment on subscription fee on
the Digital Satellite Television (DStv) being operated by it.
Justice C.J. Aneke of a Federal High Court in Lagos, who
made the interim order, had held that the order would
subsist till the determination of a lawsuit contesting the
legality of MultiChoice’s newly-introduced subscription rates
on DStv.
However, at the resumed hearing on Thursday, one of the
plaintiffs, Oyeniyi, informed the court that in spite of the
court order, MultiChoice had not stopped its new rates,
which had commenced from April 1.
Black Box Nigeria reports that the in their motion on notice,
served on the defendants along with Forms 48 and 49, the
lawyers attached as exhibits copies of receipts issued by
MultiChoice to certain subscribers reflecting payment of the
new subscription rate of N13, 980 rather than the old rate of
N11, 650 in spite of the court order.
The other prayer contained in their motion on notice was for
the court to order MultiChoice to make a refund of all
excess charges to all customers who had subscribed to the
new rate in the face of the subsisting court order.
The plaintiffs also asked for an order mandating MultiChoice
to tender a full page public apology in four national
newspapers including The Punch, ThisDay, The Guardian
and The Sun, to all subscribers for violating the court order.
They also want the court to compel the company to tender
televised apology on DStv as well as via text messages to
all subscribers in the country.
According to This Day, when the matter came up yesterday,
April 16, MultiChoice’s lawyer, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN),
informed the court that different applications to discharge
the order and to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear
the matter had been filed.
Onigbanjo had further explained that the order was made a
day after MultiChoice started the implementation of the new
rates, and that the order was brought to the attention of his
client on April 8.
The lawyer further argued that a party that had challenged
the jurisdiction of the court with respect to an order was
not bound to obey the court’s order.
Onigbanjo further noted that the status quo as at the time
the order was made had been maintained by his client.
Responding, plaintiffs lawyer, Osasuyi Adebayo, faulted
Onigbanjo’s claims on why the court’s order had not been
complied with.
He said the application for injunction was filed before April
1, and that the court’s order had not foreclosed the suit.
The matter was consequently adjourned to May 5, for the
hearing of all pending applications.
The plaintiffs, who are also lawyers, had dragged
MultiChoice to the court to challenge the increase in the
subscription rates.
In the class action suit, the plaintiffs are urging the court to
order the second defendant, the National Broadcasting
Commission(NBC), to also implement Pay Per View where
subscribers choose the programmes they want and pay as
they watch, which is being implemented in some other parts
of the world.
MultiChoice, owners of DStv and GOtv, had in March,
announced a 20 per cent price increase for all its satellite
pay TV bouquets in Nigeria.
Many Nigerian who subscribe to DSTY services have also
described the tariff hike as improper, complaining that the
irregular power supply in the country deprives them of
enjoying DSTV services to the full. They have also called for
MultiChoice to adopt the pay per view billing method.