The Metrodigital Limited, operators of SLTV, an indigenous Pay TV Company, has flayed Thursday’s raid of their head office in Port Harcourt by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) describing it as an ugly incident.

Armed operatives of EFCC ransacked the office of Metrodigital and arrested two employees of the company following alleged illegal rebroadcasting of DStv and GOtv content by the firm.

The operation followed a preservation order issued by the Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Adamu Mohammed empowering the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies to take possession of equipment and documents linked to the alleged piracy.

The raid was carried out at No. 12 Order Street, Rumuola, Stadium Link Road, GRA Phase IV, Port Harcourt.

The EFCC operatives seized broadcasting machines, decoders, transmission equipment, servers and many documents believed to contain records of signal manipulation.

The commission’s officials took statements from members of staff on duty during the enforcement action.

The commission named the arrested employees of the Metrodigital as Chinedu Nwaikwu, a director, and Uche Kanu, an engineer in the transmission room.

“They were caught with 22 decoders they were using for transmission at the time of arrest,” one of the EFCC sources, who spoke in confidence said.

A copy of the order obtained in Port Harcourt specifically directed the EFCC to secure and label all items connected with the unauthorized rebroadcast of DStv and GOtv channels, and to preserve them as exhibits for trial.

A detailed seizure report with photographs and serial numbers of the confiscated materials were expected to be tendered before the court.

But the management of Metrodigital in a statement by the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ifeanyi Nwafor, faulted the actions of the EFCC saying the raid did not make any commonsense especially as the matter was civil and was still in the court.

Explaining the development, the statement said: “There is a dispute between Multichoice the operators of DSTV and GOTV over channels sub licensing, a civil matter pending at the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Appeal No: SC/NO/SC/CV/1248/2022- Multichoice Nig Ltd vs. Metrodigital Ltd and 2 ors.

“Metrodigital had secured a judgment in its favour at the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt in Appeal No: CA/PH/188/2021-Metrodigital Ltd vs. Multichoice and 2 ors wherein the court ordered the broadcast regulators, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to perform its statutory roles by compelling Multichoice to sub-license acquired channels to Metrodigital Ltd as requested. The NBC complied with the directives as ordered.

“Surprisingly, the operatives of the EFCC based on apparent misrepresentation on a matter that is sub-judice, contrived a charge at the Federal High Court against the Managing Director of Metrodigital Ltd and 6 unknown persons and surreptitiously sought to obtain ex parte orders to seize the properties and assets of Metrodigital Ltd as proceeds of crime.

“Metrodigital Ltd got wind of the diabolic moves and filed an application as an interested party, challenging the EFCC application. EFCC responded to Metrodigitals application to which Metrodigital has also filed a reply and the matter is scheduled to hold on October 22, 2025”.

The management said it was strange that despite the applications, where issues had been joined, the court was misled to grant orders affecting the interest of Metrodigital and some other companies, including Denna Rossi Ltd, Krystal food and Beverages amongst others that had nothing to do with the broadcast dispute.

“Based on the said order of Court, EFCC officials invaded the premises of Metrogital Ltd on Thursday, October 16th, 2025 in a brigandage, carting away set-up boxes for sale, transmission equipments, laptops, registers, receipt booklets and extension cables among others and arrested innocent employees that are not affected by the said order and despite the Courts refusal to grant the orders they sought for arrest”, the statement said.

It added: “Several employees were manhandled and three persons were taken away by the Operatives of EFCC over a civil broadcast dispute to please Multichoice. An agency of government using tax payers funds to fight civil disputes involving two companies is an anathema and happens only in this part of the globe.

“The same EFCC had in 2019, under Magu as Chairman, allowed itself to be used by Multichoice in a similar commando style, to clamp down on all indigenous media houses then under the aegis of ACON, which gave rise to several suits until the Federal Government intervened through NBC and urger parties to withdraw their suits and Multichoice to withdraw its petition to EFCC”.

The statement said Metrodigital had taken every legal step to address what it described as the high-handedness of Multichoice, whose efforts it said was channeled to achieve monopoly in the the broadcast industry adding that the South African company had found EFCC as a willing tool.

It said after the raid, the EFCC went went on air to broadcast that their arrest of employees they found in the premises of Metrodigital Ltd was for illegal rebroadcast and wondered how a civil dispute on content and copyrights within the jurisdiction of NBC and NCC had become a criminal matter.

The statement said: “It is pertinent to point to the fact that Multichoice has taken its lawlessness too far to the extent that it resorts to falsehood and deceit to stain an indigenous law abiding organization and prevent it from carrying out its legal and lawful business responsibilities.

“The National Broadcasting Codes is clear on the operations of organizations in the industry, but the company with a deep pocket and also diametrically opposed to competition keep shopping for frivolous orders to foreclose the market and maintain dominance.

“It is not yet time to shout Uhuru as the raid carried out at the Metrodigital office does not pass the test of common sense especially as the matter is in Court.

It will spell doom for the country if an anti graft agency like the EFCC allows itself to be continually used to secure monopoly for another competitor.

“The dispute between Metrodigital and Multichoice is purely civil and a responsibility of the National Broadcasting Commission and Nigerian Copyright Commission”. (The Nation)