Tribunal orders Multichoice to give one-month free subscription to subscribers in Nigeria, pay N150m fine

The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) on Friday slammed N150 million fine against Multichoice Nig. Ltd. for disobeying its order on subscription rates hike for DStv and Gotv packages.

The tribunal, sitting in Abuja, also ordered the pay television operator to give one-month free subscription to all its Nigerian subscribers on the DStv and Gotv platforms, for flouting its order.

The three-member tribunal chaired by Thomas Okosun, in a ruling, found Multichoice culpable of contempt by flouting its earlier order restraining the pay television operator from implementing hike in its subscription rates for DStv and GOtv.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CCPT had, on 29 April, restrained MultiChoice from increasing its tariffs and cost of products and services scheduled to begin on 1 May.

Mr Onifade, a lawyer and subscriber, had approached the tribunal contending that the eight-day notice given by Multichoice for a price hike was insufficient.

Respondents in the case were MultiChoice and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

He urged the tribunal to restrain Multichoice from implementing the tariff hike from 1 May as planned, pending the hearing determination of the petition.

The tribunal granted the ex-parte motion of the applicant and stopped Multichoice from going ahead with the price increase in the interim.

However, in defiance of the tribunal’s order, MultiChoice hiked its subscription rates for DStv and Gotv packages on the scheduled date 1 May.

Following the price hike, Mr Onifade, on 7 May commenced contempt proceedings against Mohammed Sani, Manager of Abuja office of MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd, over alleged disobedience to the order made by the CCPT.

The Notice of Consequence of Disobedience to Order of Court (Form 48) marked: CCPT/OP/02/2024 filed on 7 May by Mr Onifade warned Mr Sani against disregarding the tribunal order.

MultiChoice, through its lawyer, Moyosore Onigbanjo, a Senior Advocate Nigeria, filed a preliminary objection praying the tribunal to decline jurisdiction in the suit.

Mr Onigbanjo argued that such a price dispute case had been decided before in favour of his client.

Mr Onifade, in his response, urged the tribunal to discountenance the company’s objection and direct it to pay the sum of N10 billion or any amount the panel might deem fit in the circumstance for deliberately disobeying and failure to comply with the interim order.

The lawyer argued that the issue he brought did not border on price regulation or increase.

He explained that what he placed before the court was whether the company gave adequate notice in respect of the 1 May subscription price increase.

“It is our submission that the eight-day notice issued by Multichoice Nigeria Ltd is insufficient in law.

“A monthly subscriber should be given at least a month,” he said, praying the tribunal to dismiss the preliminary objection for being a waste of time of the court.

Delivering the ruling, the Thomas Okosun-led tribunal agreed with Mr Onifade’s submission, prompting the panel to affirm its jurisdiction and rule against the company.

The tribunal subsequently fixed July 3 for hearing of the substantive suit of the claimant.

Premium Times

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US lawmakers say Nigeria is detaining American to extort Binance

US lawmakers have accused Nigeria of wrongfully detaining an American staff member of cryptocurrency exchange Binance in an attempt to extort money. They urged President Joe Biden and the State Department to quickly intervene in the case.

Tigran Gambaryan, 40, and a company colleague were arrested by Nigerian security authorities in February while on an official visit to the country.

Gambaryan is facing charges of tax evasion, money laundering and engaging in unlicensed financial activities, in a trial that began in May.

“Mr. Gambaryan’s health and well-being are in danger, and we fear for his life,” read a letter dated June 4 and signed by 16 members of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“It is crucial to emphasize that the charges against Mr. Gambaryan are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic by the Nigerian government to extort his employer, Binance,” stated the letter, which also said he had been subjected to harsh treatment and called for swift action to save his life.

Nigeria’s government, responding to the accusations, said it is following due process. “Prosecutors are confident of their case, based on the facts and evidence gathered. Binance will have every opportunity to defend itself in court against these severe charges of financial crimes,” Information Minister Mohammed Idris said on Wednesday.

Gambaryan’s representatives and Binance have demanded his release, stating that he has no decision-making power in the company. They say he should not be held to answer to any alleged company offenses.

Nigerian authorities this year renewed their crackdown on crypto, arguing that trades on platforms like Binance helped weaken the local naira currency even as it evades paying taxes on earnings from its activities. Idris, the information minister, claimed Binance had “a turnover in Nigeria of over $20 billion” in 2023.

The central bank lifted a ban on banks enabling crypto transactions last December but restrictions remain in effect as no institutions have been licensed to carry out crypto transactions in the country. Internet service providers have maintained restrictions imposed in February on user access to the apps and websites of crypto companies, including that of Binance.

The US lawmakers’ claim of extortion mirrors those Binance made in May. Richard Teng, the company’s CEO, said executives were asked by an agent of a Nigerian legislative committee to make “a significant payment in cryptocurrency” to settle allegations of tax violations after a meeting in January this year. Binance declined to make the payment, Teng said.

Gambaryan’s trial will continue in a court in Nigeria’s capital Abuja this month. He has been remanded in the city’s Kuje prison, a maximum security facility that has previously been used to detain alleged extremists affiliated with the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

THE VIEW FROM WASHINGTON

Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, Binance’s billionaire founder and former chief executive, began serving a four-month sentence in a prison in California this month and will be due for release in September, according to the US Bureau of Prisons website.

The 47-year-old Canadian pleaded guilty to violating US money laundering laws and was sentenced in April. The company also pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and agreed to pay a $4 billion fine by the Justice Department.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen denounced Binance for “willful failures [that] allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform.”

A group of former prosecutors and federal agents in the US also wrote to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, urging him to “step up” efforts to secure Gambaryan’s release, Axios reports.

By Alexander Onukwue, SEMAFOR

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Seven rescued as 50 feared trapped in collapsed Niger mining pit

The federal government has rescued seven persons at a collapsed mining site in Galadima Kogo, in Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, said this in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that first responders had already been deployed to the scene of the incident, adding that the rescue mission was in collaboration with the mining company.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 30 people were said to be trapped in the pit at a mining site operated by African Minerals and Logistics Ltd.

However, other sources said at least 50 workers are trapped underground at the pit.

Among those trapped is the site manager of the mining company, Ibrahim Ishaku.

It was gathered that a middle-aged man, whose name was given as Kuta and who is the chief security officer of the mining company, died while trying to rescue some of the victims.

It was further gathered that while manual rescue operation was ongoing, another portion of the mining pit caved in, forcing the rescuers to abandon the rescue operation and run for their lives.

Abdullahi Arah, the director-general of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), said the collapse was caused by a downpour which softened the soil.

The minister said the swift rescue action was a demonstration of the commitment of the government to mitigate the adverse impact of the incident and rescue those still trapped in the rubble.

“Upon learning of the incident, we mobilised our Federal Mines Officer (FMO) and officials of the Mines Inspectorate to the site.

“In collaboration with the mining company, we have rescued seven victims, some with injuries. Rescue operations with excavators are ongoing to ensure we avert loss of lives,” he said.

According to the statement, the minister recently announced a policy on the mandatory arrangements of remedial measures for mining pits as part of the criteria for applying for mining licences.

The move was aimed at minimising incidents such as the collapse of the mining site in Niger.

It said the minister was actively monitoring the situation at the mining site

He assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s resolve to investigate the remote causes of the disaster to prevent a recurrence.

In an earlier statement in Minna on Tuesday, the public relations officer of the state emergency management agency, Hussaini Ibrahim, said, “due to the unacceptable nature of that environment as a result of banditry, the information of the incident is very scanty, including rescue operations”.

Mr Ibrahim, however, disclosed that excavators had been deployed to the scene for the rescue operations.

He also said bandits attacked two areas in the state on Sunday night.

He said the bandits kidnapped six persons in Adogo Mallam village in Mashegun Local Government Area and at least 20 people in Tunga Kawo village in Erena ward of Shiroro Local Government Area, where he said hundreds of cows were also rustled.

By Maimuna Raji Egigogo, Premium Times