A High Court in Lagos State has ordered MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to pay N5 million in general damages to a subscriber for the wrongful and willful disconnection of his cable TV service.
In a judgment delivered on September 30, 2025, Justice Razak Olukolu held that the company acted wrongfully by disrupting the claimant’s active subscription without justification, despite proof of payment.
The case, LD/ADR/2297/2019, was filed in 2019 by Ben Onuora, the Obi of Okwudor in Imo State, who sought N20 million in general damages.
He argued that he and his family suffered severe inconvenience and emotional distress due to MultiChoice’s repeated disruption of his DStv connection.
Relying on the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, the FCCPC Abuse of Dominance Regulations 2022, and Section 13 of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency Law, 2015, the court ruled in favour of Onuora.
Justice Olukolu awarded N5 million against MultiChoice Nigeria but denied the claimant’s request for the company to cover the cost of the suit.
The court also issued “an order directing the defendant to immediately reconnect and restore the claimant’s cable television subscription and to extend the subscription to cover the entire period of the wrongful disconnection.”
Additionally, “interest on the judgment sum of N5 million was granted at the rate of 10 percent per annum until full payment is made.”
Reacting to the ruling on Monday, Tunji Bello, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), commended the court for “upholding consumer rights in Nigeria.”
The statement, signed by Ondaje Ijagwu, FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, also referenced a similar judgment by a High Court in Enugu State that declared the “no refund” policy of Peace Mass Transit unlawful.
In that case, E/514/2021, filed in 2021, Patrick Chukwuma had purchased a ticket from the company’s Obollor-Afor branch for a trip to Enugu on February 10, 2021.
He said that after hours of delay caused by the absence of passengers, he returned to the ticketing office to request a refund of the N500 fare he paid. However, he was denied a refund, as the company’s staff cited its “no refund after payment” policy.
In an April 2022 judgment, Justice C.O. Ajah declared the company’s “no refund policy” illegal, null, and void under sections 120, 104, and 129(1)(a) and (b)(iii) of the FCCPA, 2018.
Ajah also ordered Peace Mass Transit to pay N500,000 in damages to the plaintiff.
According to the FCCPC, these rulings “show the strength of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), 2018, which empowers consumers to seek redress and requires service providers to meet lawful standards of fair service delivery.”
The statement further revealed that the commission facilitated recoveries exceeding N10 billion for consumers across 30 sectors between March and August 2025, demonstrating “the growing effectiveness of Nigeria’s consumer protection system.”
Bello added that consistent judicial enforcement complements the FCCPC’s regulatory efforts and “reinforces the message that consumer-rights violations attract real consequences.”
He urged consumers to continue reporting unfair practices through the FCCPC complaint portal, email, or any of its nationwide offices.