US Court Summons Davido Over Alleged Intellectual Theft

Davido has been ordered by a U.S. court to appear within 21 days over accusations of intellectual theft of a song and failing to settle a $45,000 debt with Nigerian artistes.
Nigerian singer Davido has been given a 21-day deadline by a United States District Court to answer charges of intellectual property theft.

The case of theft filed against Davido in the Southern District of New York, stems from a lawsuit brought against him by four Nigerian artistes: Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru.

The artistes accuse Davido of theft of their 2022 song “Work” and using it to create his track, “Strawberry on Ice,” which was released in 2024. The lawsuit also names Emmerson Amidu Bockarie, known professionally as Emmerson, who was featured on the track, and several other individuals, including Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and Wynn Records, the agency that published and distributed “Strawberry on Ice.”

The issue reportedly began in January 2022 when the plaintiffs shared a demo of their song “Work” with Davido, hoping for a collaboration. Instead of working together, they claim Davido took their song and gave it to Emmerson, who used elements of it to create the new track without permission.

In March 2025, the plaintiffs reached an agreement with Davido, where he promised to pay $45,000 and give them a share of royalties for the song. They were to receive 40% of the royalties for the composition and 20% for the sound recording of “Strawberry on Ice.” However, Davido failed to meet the deadline to fulfill his promise, leading the plaintiffs to file a lawsuit on April 4, 2025.

Now, the plaintiffs are seeking a court ruling on the infringement of their intellectual property rights. They also want to be compensated with $150,000 in damages and have 40% of the compositional copyright and 20% of the sound recording copyright of “Strawberry on Ice” transferred to them. Furthermore, they are asking the court to stop Davido and his co-defendants from infringing upon their rights or future works.