Metro Digital faces trial over alleged illegal rebroadcast of Multichoice content
Media and communications firm, Metro Digital Limited, is facing trial before Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over alleged unlawful interception and rebroadcast of Multichoice Nigeria Limited content.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday arraigned the company on an amended four-count charge bordering on cybercrime and illegal rebroadcast of protected content.
At the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel, Steve E. Odiase, informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment.
Defence counsel, S.A. Somairi (SAN), attempted to stop the arraignment by drawing the court’s attention to a preliminary objection, but the judge declined the request and ordered that the plea be taken in line with Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
According to the charges, Metro Digital Limited, alongside its managing director, Ifeanyi John Nwafor, and a staff member, Ikenna Kanu, allegedly conspired between 2015 and 2019 to unlawfully intercept and rebroadcast Multichoice content without authorisation.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants intentionally intercepted and retransmitted signals through devices such as tiger boxes and dongles, despite Multichoice Nigeria Limited holding exclusive broadcast rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Metro Digital Limited, through its representative, pleaded not guilty to all four charges, following which the prosecution asked the court to fix a date for trial.
Justice Mohammed subsequently adjourned the matter to June 29 and 30, 2026, for continuation of hearing, while the anti-graft agency said investigations began after Multichoice petitioned the EFCC in 2019 over alleged financial losses caused by the illegal rebroadcast of its content.
