By Abiola Olawale
Nigerian music sensation David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has been thrust into a legal quagmire as the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued a summons, ordering him to appear within 21 days to answer charges of intellectual property theft and breach of a $45,000 settlement agreement.
The lawsuit, filed by four Nigerian artists, Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru, accused the Afrobeats superstar of allegedly stealing their 2022 demo track “Work” and using it without permission to create his 2024 hit “Strawberry on Ice.”
According to court documents, the controversy began in January 2022 when the plaintiffs shared their demo with Davido in hopes of a collaboration.
Instead, they alleged that Davido handed the track to collaborator Emmerson Amidu Bockarie (known as Emmerson), who sampled its elements to produce “Strawberry on Ice,” released under Davido’s banner alongside co-defendants Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and Wynn Records.
The plaintiffs claimed that they were blindsided by the unauthorized use, prompting them to seek redress.
In an attempt to resolve the matter out of court, the plaintiffs claimed they eventually reached Davido after several months and entered into a settlement agreement on March 14, 2025.
They claimed that Davido agreed to pay $45,000, alongside 40% of the song’s compositional royalties and 20% of its sound recording royalties.
However, the plaintiffs asserted that Davido failed to honour the agreement by the March 24 deadline, leading to the current lawsuit filed on April 4.
They are now seeking $150,000 in damages and a court order to enforce the royalty splits, arguing that Davido and his team infringed on their intellectual property rights.
Meanwhile, as of press time on Thursday, Davido had not responded to requests for comment.
