Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The faces of the two wanted men, Ifeanyi John Nwafor and Ikenna Kanu, are yet to be plastered on police posters. But their alleged crimes—illegally siphoning premium television content and reselling it as their own—have already landed their corporate shell in the dock of a Federal High Court. On Tuesday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured the arraignment of a Port Harcourt-based communications firm, Metro Digital Limited, after a painstaking investigation that uncovered a sophisticated, four‑year scheme to steal and rebroadcast the intellectual property of Multichoice Nigeria, the parent company of DStv and GOtv. The company pleaded not guilty. But the real fight will begin when the court tries to catch its fugitive directors.
The arraignment, which occurred on May 5, 2026, took place before Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The anti‑graft agency slammed an amended four‑count charge on Metro Digital, one that goes to the very heart of Nigeria’s digital economy and the protection of creative industries. The allegations, as contained in the charge sheet, are deeply detailed. Prosecutors told the court that between 2015 and 2019, the company conspired with its Managing Director, Ifeanyi John Nwafor, and a staff member, Ikenna Kanu, to commit a felony: the unlawful interception of Multichoice’s encrypted broadcast signals using illegal decoders and other technical contraptions. Once intercepted, the content was then retransmitted to an unsuspecting public using “tiger boxes, dongles, etc.”, the court documents revealed. The scheme directly violated Multichoice’s exclusive rights to broadcast its channels—including DStv, Africa Magic, and the popular reality show Big Brother Naija—across Sub‑Saharan Africa.
The EFCC arrived in court heavily armed with evidence. The commission’s prosecution counsel, Steve E. Odiase, presented the four‑count amended charge, which not only accuses the firm of piracy but also of money laundering and economic sabotage. However, the start of the proceedings was not without tension as Defence counsel, S.A. Somairi, SAN, immediately attempted to stall the arraignment by lodging a preliminary objection, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction or that the process was flawed. The judge, Justice Mohammed, was not swayed. He overruled the objection and, citing Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, directed that the company be allowed to enter its plea through a representative. Under the ACJA, a corporation cannot be physically present in the dock; it must be represented by a legal officer or director to answer to charges.
When the charges were read, Metro Digital Limited, speaking through its legal representative, entered a plea of “not guilty” to all four counts. Following this, the prosecution asked for a trial date. The court adjourned the matter to June 29 and 30, 2026, for the continuation of the trial. Notably, the two human suspects in the case—Managing Director Ifeanyi John Nwafor and staff member Ikenna Kanu—remain at large. The court noted that they had been separately charged but are currently evading arrest, and their absence is considered a factor complicating the full prosecution of the case. The EFCC has vowed to arrest them.
The case has its origins in a complaint lodged by Multichoice Nigeria back in 2019. At the time, the pay‑TV giant reported a massive financial hemorrhage to the EFCC caused by the illegal rebroadcast of its content. The anti‑graft agency then launched a full‑scale forensic investigation, tracking the financial footprint and technical architecture of the syndicate. That investigation took years to conclude, but it ultimately led the Commission to Metro Digital and its directors. As the government and broadcasters push for a clampdown on content theft, the trial of Metro Digital is set to become a landmark case in the enforcement of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, particularly Sections 12 and 27 which criminalize unlawful interception of data and conspiracy to commit cyber felonies.
The implications of the case extend far beyond this single firm. As Nigeria’s creative industry booms, and as streaming and pay‑TV markets grow, intellectual property theft has emerged as a silent killer of revenues. The EFCC has signaled that it is treating the matter with the same seriousness as financial fraud, and this trial will be watched by the entire Nigerian broadcast industry as a test of how far the government is willing to go to protect creatives from digital pirates.
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