Nigerian music superstar David Adeleke, with the popular stage name: Davido, is currently embroiled in an escalating legal battle in the United States as a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued a summon against him.
The US District Court gave the Afrobeat icon 21 days to appear and address serious allegations of intellectual property theft and an unpaid $45,000 settlement tied to his 2024 track, “Strawberry on Ice.”
The lawsuit, filed by a group of four Nigerian artists, Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru, claimed that Davido lifted elements of their 2022 song “Work” without permission.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs shared a demo of “Work” with Davido in January 2022 as part of a potential collaboration.
They alleged that instead of partnering with them, 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 was yet to respond to the allegations and court summon.
