The U.S. District Court for Manhattan’s southern New York District gave Nigerian singer David Adeleke, known as Davido, to appear before it 21 days in response to intellectual property theft.
According to a legal application obtained by the People’s Gazette, the lawsuit was filed by four Nigerian artistsMartin God Emmanuel,,,,, Abel Great Umaru,,,,, Kelvin Ayodele Campbelland David Ovhioghena Umaru.
They are accused David Steal their 2022 song “Works”. The plaintiffs claimed that Davido wrote his own track using their song, titled “Strawberry on Ice”, which was released in 2024.
Davido and Emmerson Amidu Bockary (Professional called Emmerson), once appeared in Davido’s songs Carlos Jenkins,,,,, Matthew Quinney,,,,, Mile II Markand Wynn Records, the agency responsible for publishing and distributing “Strawberries on Ice”.
According to legal documents, the issue began in January 2022, when the plaintiff sincerely shared a “work” demonstration with Davido as part of a potential collaboration. At the time, the group was seeking breakthroughs in the music industry. However, the plaintiff claimed that Davido did not collaborate, but brought the song to Emmerson, who then recorded instrumental and sound elements in a “work” that created “Strawberry on Ice” without permission.
To resolve the matter, the plaintiff contacted Davido and a few months later they were able to obtain the agreement on March 14, 2025. The agreement stipulates that Davido will pay a $45,000 settlement and provide the plaintiff with 40% copyright fees to pay for the basic composition of “Ice Records on Ice” and 20% of the record recording. But despite the promise of payment before the March 24 deadline, Davido has not met the terms of the agreement.
In response, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Davido and his co-defendant in New York on April 4. The plaintiff is seeking a court ruling that Davido and his co-defendant infringed on the intellectual property rights of the “work”. They also seek $150,000 in losses, as well as 40% of the copyright of the work and 20% of the “Strawberry on Ice” recordings.
In addition, they asked the court to prevent further infringement of the plaintiff’s copyright or engage in actions that violate future work.
