Nigeria suspends copyright body

The new development means COSON can no longer receive royalties on behalf of Nigerian musicians and will have to stop functioning as a copyright body.

Prior to this directive, the NCC had demanded that the dispute between Tony Okoroji and Efe Omorogbe, both of whom claim to lead COSON, be resolved with fresh elections following a reversal of the reelection of Okoroji.

That demand appears to have gone unheeded.

“It can be recalled that the decrees issued by the commission to the management of COSON not to implement certain decisions taken at the general meeting held on 19 December 2017, in response to the petition made by the governing board of COSON, was blatantly rejected by the management of COSON and detailed in the letter received by the commission in February 2018 signed by the general manager of COSON,” reads a part of an NCC letter.

“Other activities of the management of COSON, which are glaring in the public domain, have also confirmed the refusal of the management to comply with the dictates of the commission as it is obliged to do according to the laws and regulation guiding its operations.”

Other interventions, including letters by Audu Maikori, Victor Uwaifo and 2Baba, have failed to resolve the situation. While Uwaifo wrote in support of Okoroji, Maikori implored Okoroji to leave the position. For his part, 2Baba wrote to the NCC director Afam Ezekude, asking for protection of Omorogbe, who was recently arrested and then released by the police.

“I will like to implore you to use your good office to engage the inspector-general of police," wrote the popstar, "with a view to setting the records straight and reversing the embarrassing and dangerous scenario where Mr Omorogbe and Mr Joel Ajayi, chairman and members of the commission-recognised board acting well under the directive of the regulator, are now being harassed, intimidated, demonised and prosecuted by a sister government agency – the Nigerian police force."

It is unclear if the NCC suspension will bring about a resolution to the controversy. As it stands, the copyright society has said it is contesting the suspension in court. Perhaps to give the impression of being at ease, on the morning of 10 May, COSON, as led by Tony Okoroji, went ahead with its annual general meeting in Ikeja, Lagos.