Connect with us

News

DSTV Hike: Lawyer To Paste Restraining Order At MultiChoice Office

Published

on

The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal in Abuja has ordered that its interim order, restraining MultiChoice Nigeria Limited from increasing DSTV tariff, be pasted at the firm’s “corporate headquarters or any known address of the branches of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited across Nigeria.”

The chairman of the tribunal, Saratu Shafii, who made the order dated April 29, 2024, said the document should also be MultiChoice’s known email address, social media handles and any means of communication publicly known for MultiChoice.

Advertisement

The interim order, restraining MultiChoice from increasing its tariff, was granted in favour of an Abuja-based lawyer, Festus Onifade, who is aggrieved by MultiChoice recent announcement to increase the tariffs on its DStv and Gotv packages effective from May 1.

In his suit, marked CCPT/OP/2/2024, Onifade listed   MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission as defendants.

READ ALSO: Multichoice Hikes DStv, GOtv Prices

Advertisement

He sought  “an order of interim injunction of this honourable tribunal restraining the 1st defendant whether by themselves, her privies, assigns by whatsoever name called from going ahead with impending price increase scheduled to take effect from 1st May 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“An order restraining the 1st defendant from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.”

On Monday, April 29, the tribunal issued an order stopping MultiChoice from increasing its tariffs and cost of products and services scheduled to take effect from May 1.

Advertisement

The three-member tribunal, presided over by  Shafii, gave the order following an ex parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for the applicant.

READ ALSO: Tribunal Restrains MultiChoice From hiking DStv, Gotv Subscription Rates

The company was restrained from effecting its planned price hike pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.

Advertisement

However, upon moves by the tribunal to serve Multi-Choice, the bailiff alleged that staff at the Abuja office of the company refused to receive service of the order and other court documents.

The bailiff claimed that one of the company’s top managers at the Abuja office refused to receive the documents and instructed that the documents be sent to the Lagos office, being the headquarters.

Following the bailiff’s feedback, the tribunal issued an order of substituted service on MultiChoice pursuant to Section 48 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018; and Part N, Order 14 Rule 11(1) of the CCPT Rule, 2021.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: MultiChoice Turns Down Canal+ Buyout

In the certified true copy of the order of substituted service, the Shaffi-led panel directed that the ex-parte order in suit number: CCPT/OP/2/2024, be pasted at the corporate headquarters or any known address of the branches of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited across Nigeria.

She also ordered that the documents be sent to the company’s “known email address, social media handles and any means of communication publicly known for Multi-Choice and shall also be pasted in the CCPT communication outlet.”

Advertisement

Multi-choice had recently announced price increments across its DStv and GOtv packages effective May 1, 2024.

The pay-TV company had claimed the price hike was due to the cost of business operations in Nigeria.

Advertisement

News

FG Unveils Revised Curriculum For Basic, Secondary, Technical Education

Published

on

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad

The Federal Government said it completed a comprehensive review of school curricula for basic, senior secondary and technical education aimed to make Nigerian learners “future-ready.”

The Ministry of Education disclosed this in a statement signed on Friday by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, and made available to newsmen on Sunday.

Advertisement

Folasade said the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad announced the curriculum on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, while speaking in Abuja.

READ ALSO:FG Shuts 22 Illegal Tertiary Institutions

According to the minister, the review was carried out in collaboration with key education stakeholders, including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, the Universal Basic Education Commission, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.

Advertisement

The new framework is designed to reduce content overload, improve learning outcomes, and ensure Nigerian students are equipped with skills relevant to today’s global demands.

Prof. Ahmad said the exercise went beyond merely trimming subjects, stressing it focused on improving content to promote deeper learning and reduce overload for pupils and students.

Under the revised structure, pupils in Primary 1–3 will study a minimum of nine and a maximum of 10 subjects; pupils in Primary 4–6 will take 10 to 12 subjects. Junior secondary students may offer 12 to 14 subjects, senior secondary students will take eight to nine subjects, and technical schools will offer nine to 11 subjects,” the statement read.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:FG To Disburse Interest-free Loans To Farmers, Small Businesses – GEEP

The revised curricula will reduce content overload and create more learning time for students,” Prof. Ahmad said, adding that the changes reflect the government’s commitment to delivering quality, practical and relevant education in a rapidly changing world.

The Ministry of Education commended stakeholders for their role in the review and said implementation will be accompanied by strict monitoring to ensure a smooth transition across schools nationwide.

Advertisement

The ministry did not give an exact date for rollout, but said the new curricula will be phased in with oversight from relevant agencies to guarantee effective adoption.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Over 23,000 People Still Missing In Nigeria — ICRC

Published

on

The International Committee of the Red Cross says more than 23,659 people remain missing in Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families in anguish, most of them women struggling with uncertainty and hardship.

Protection of Family Links Team Leader of ICRC in Damaturu, Mr Ishaku Luka, disclosed this on Sunday during activities to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.

Advertisement

He said 68 per cent of those still searching for answers were women, while 59 per cent of those missing were minors at the time of their disappearance.

According to him, Yobe State alone accounts for 2,500 cases, the majority recorded in Gujba Local Government Area.

Behind every missing person is a family living in pain, uncertainty, and economic difficulty.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:‘Court Of Corruption’ — Obasanjo Knocks INEC Chairman, Judiciary In New Book

The anguish is compounded by legal, administrative, and psychosocial challenges. These families deserve acknowledgement, care and support,” Luka said.

He explained that the issue of missing persons was one of the most devastating consequences of armed conflicts, disasters, and migration.

Advertisement

He urged parties to conflicts, authorities, and communities to take greater responsibility in preventing disappearances.

Sharing ICRC’s interventions, Luka said by June 30, the organisation had collected 451 new cases in Nigeria, and closed 515 cases.

Luka added that the organisation had facilitated the reunification of seven separated children with their families.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:FG To Earn N180bn From Fire, Cassava Investments – ICRC

Every day, worldwide, we help reunite 20 people with their families. Every hour, we help clarify the fate of two missing people. Every minute, we help four separated persons contact their loved ones,” he added.

Head of ICRC Sub-delegation in Damaturu, Mr Rashid Hassan, said families of the missing should not be left alone in their struggles.

Advertisement

Time does not heal. Acknowledgement, answers and respect do. Families must know that their loved ones are not forgotten and their demands are heard,” Hassan stressed.

He said the ICRC, working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), had provided mental health and psychosocial support, livelihood assistance, and orientation programmes for families of missing persons in Borno and Adamawa states.

Hassan urged authorities to fulfill their obligations by clarifying the fate of missing persons, protecting the dignity of the dead, and addressing the economic and social needs of the affected families.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Why Super Eagles Coach, Peseiro’s Contract Should Not Be Renewed’

He also called on society to show solidarity, avoid stigmatisation, and support the resilience of families searching for answers.

Globally, Hassan said, more than 94,000 people were newly registered as missing in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400.

Advertisement

He stressed, however, that the figure represented only a fraction of the real number.

As we commemorate this day, we renew our commitment to advocate for the rights of the disappeared and to push for continuous efforts in searching for answers.

“No family should live with the torment of uncertainty,” Hassan said.

Advertisement

(NAN)

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Ex-TVC’s ‘Your View Host,’ Afolabi-Brown, Admits Ignorance In Past Criticism Of Peter Obi

Published

on

… narratives how she once considered suicide

Former Your View host, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, has said her past remarks about former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, were made without knowing much about him or his record in office.

Advertisement

The veteran media personality, in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, explained that her comments on the Labour Party presidential candidate at the time were not based on personal familiarity with his record.

“It was because I did not know him. After I made that comment, people called me and said, ‘Morayo, do you realise that when he was governor, he actually served us?’

“So that was him. I said, ‘Oh, I did not know,’” she said.

Advertisement

The broadcaster also opened up about her battle with depression, recalling how she once considered taking her own life.

READ ALSO:Your View Host, Morayo Brown, Resigns From TVC

“I was depressed. It got so bad that I thought I was suicidal. I just left everything behind.

Advertisement

“I remember just walking on the express, hoping a car would hit me. It was that bad,” she revealed.

Afolabi-Brown explained that she decided to step away from Your View after the show’s tenth anniversary, saying she had long harboured the thought of moving on.

It was when we were 10 years old that I knew it was time to move on to the next thing.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Ghana Threatens To Suspend DSTV Licence Over Price Hike

I’ve been harbouring that thought for a while, but I just didn’t know to what or where, you know.

“But I think last year, I got that light bulb moment,” she said.

Advertisement

Brown further narrated how she was sacked from TVC until her identity became known to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

People now call Asiwaju, ‘Do you know whose child was sacked?’ He said, ‘I’m not aware.’

READ ALSO:Naira Abuse: Don’t Condemn Tompolo Over Mere Allegation, Says EFCC Boss

Advertisement

He said, ‘This is the Alao Aka-Bashorun’s daughter. That’s when he knew it was me,” she recalled.

On controversies during her career, she revisited the uproar that trailed an on-air interview in which she was accused of calling her husband a pedophile.

According to her, the First Lady’s intervention helped her make peace and publicly apologise.

Advertisement

Her exit from Your View, she noted, marked the end of her 12-year journey on the breakfast show.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending