By Divine Sam
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has initiated legal action against the Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe, along with several top executives of the company, for allegedly obstructing an ongoing investigation and failing to honour lawful summons issued by the Commission.
This development stems from a charge sheet with reference number FHC/ABJ/CR/197/2025, filed by the FCCPC’s legal team led by Barrister Nsitem Chizenum. The charges were filed following a ruling delivered on May 8, 2025, by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which rejected MultiChoice’s suit that sought to validate its recent DStv and GOtv subscription price hikes.
According to the charge sheet, the executives, including John Ugbe, Gozie Onumonu, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, and five others, are accused of failing to appear before the Commission on March 6, 2025, despite a formal summons issued on February 25, 2025. FCCPC regards the failure as a violation of its Act, categorizing it as a criminal offence.
Specifically, the Commission alleged that the accused persons, as directors of MultiChoice Nigeria, deliberately failed to produce required documents and obstructed the Commission’s investigation. The incident allegedly occurred at the company’s office located at 23 Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
“These individuals, in their capacity as Directors, caused MultiChoice Nigeria to refuse compliance with a lawful summons and hindered an ongoing investigation,” the Commission stated, citing Section 3 of the FCCPC Act of 2018.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, FCCPC’s counsel informed Justice James Omotosho that the defendants