In a legal twist, Nigerian superstar Davido has been given a 21-day deadline by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to resolve an alleged intellectual property theft case.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of four Nigerian artists, Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru, who accuse the singer of stealing their 2022 track “Work” for his 2024 hit, “Strawberry on Ice.”
The lawsuit also names several artists and entities, including Emmerson, who was featured on “Strawberry on Ice,” along with other collaborators like Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and Wynn Records, the label behind the song.
According to the plaintiffs, they initially presented their track “Work” to Davido for a potential collaboration.
However, Davido allegedly took the song to Emmerson, who then sampled key elements of the song’s vocals and instrumental, eventually releasing the track as “Strawberry on Ice” without permission.
Court documents reveal that the plaintiffs and Davido reached a settlement agreement on March 14, 2025, where he agreed to pay $45,000 and grant them a share of the royalties—40% for the composition and 20% for the sound recording.
However, despite the agreement, Davido failed to honor the terms by the March 24 deadline, prompting the court to issue the ultimatum.
If Davido does not comply within the next 21 days, he could face further legal action.
Source: NewsandVibes.com
