COSON SUES EFE OMOROGBE: ASKS THAT HE STOPS PARADING HIMSELF AS AN OFFICER OF COSON OR CHAIRMAN

COSON SUES EFE OMOROGBE: ASKS THAT HE STOPS PARADING HIMSELF AS AN OFFICER OF COSON OR CHAIRMAN

Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has gone to court against a former member of its Board, Mr. Efe Omorogbe.

In the suit No ID/4827/GCMW18 filed on behalf of COSON by Mr. James Ononiwu of Whitedove Solicitors, the society has asked for an injunction restraining Mr. Efe Omorogbe from parading himself as Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON).

COSON has also requested from the court an injunction restraining Mr. Omorogbe whether by himself, servant, privy or agent from calling or convening any meeting by whatever name, be it board meeting, general meeting, etc, at any location whether in Lagos or anywhere in the country or outside the country in the name of Copyright Society of Nigeria.

The action which has COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji as joint claimant is supported by a 16 paragraph sworn statement deposed to by the General Manager of COSON, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji.

Commenting on the development, Afro Juju superstar and COSON Board member, Sir Shina Peters said, “there is no well-meaning person in the Nigerian creative community who is not proud of COSON, an organization that has been managed with the level of professionalism and sophistication previously thought impossible in Nigeria.

Sir Shina Peters

“The quality of leadership provided to COSON by our Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, has resulted in phenomenal growth in the society. It is sad that those who were too busy to dedicate their time to COSON suddenly have a lot of time for the organization. They want to hijack COSON, suck it dry and kill it the same way PMAN was killed after Okoroji had built PMAN into a big national institution.

“The members of COSON across Nigeria, the Board, our management, consultants, reciprocal representation partners across the world and very many young Nigerians are united and resolute that what happened to PMAN will not happen to COSON. COSON is a legacy we will bestow on the next generation of Nigerian artistes. We are 100% in support of Chief Tony Okoroji, an uncommon Nigerian who has dedicated an entire life time to ensure respect for the Nigerian creative community. We trust him. Can’t everybody see that the more they try to destroy Okoroji, the more his profile grows? I want to assure everyone that despite the concerted attack on COSON from well-known quarters, COSON continues to work and work very well. I remain very proud of COSON”

COSON TO HOLD 2018 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ON MAY 10 AT LAGOS SHERATON IKEJA

2018 COSON ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO HOLD MAY 10 AT LAGOS SHERATON IKEJA

The 2018 Annual General Meeting of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) will hold on May 10, 2018 at Lagos Sheraton Hotel Ikeja.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the full Board of the society which held at COSON House, Ikeja on February 26, 2018.

At the AGM, elections to all vacant positions on the Board will be held and the report of the auditors to the society will be considered.

The Board meeting also resolved to pursue with every diligence the setting aside at the Court of Appeal of the judgment delivered by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court on February 13 in the case brought by COSON against MCSN, the AGF and NCC. According to the Board, except overturned, the judgment will destroy the collective management of copyright in Nigeria and put many commercial users of musical content at enormous risk.

The Board also approved Management’s request for new sophisticated software to speed up specific distribution of royalties to members and affiliates of the society.

Present at the Board meeting presided over by Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman of COSON, were Board members, Sir Shina Peters, Ras Kimono, Hon John Udegbunam, Kenny Saint Brown, Azeezat Allen, Engr Sharon Esco Wilson, Maureen Ejezie, Richard Cole and Uche Emeka Paul. Also present were Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, the society’s General Manager and Ms Bernice Eriemeghe, the society’s Head of Finance & Administration.

READ FULL TEXT OF VICTOR UWAIFO'S MISSILE TO NCC DG, EZEKUDE

I read with utmost disgust your recent letter to COSON widely published on the Internet in which you attempted to give instructions to COSON, an independent private sector organization, as if COSON is a department under your Commission.

For the avoidance of doubt, I presided over the meeting of the members of COSON held in Lagos on December 19, 2017 at which meeting; COSON members, all over Nigeria freely and unanimously in one voice, restored Chief Tony Okoroji as Chairman of our Society. It was clear to me that every well-meaning member of COSON who attended the meeting was angered by the decision of the purported removal of Chief Okoroji by six members of the Society on December 7, 2017. The removal of Okoroji was an attempt to hijack COSON at a critical period in its history and destroy our fledging organization, the same way PMAN was destroyed.

Absolutely, the interest of these six individuals cannot override that of the thousands of COSON members, affiliates and foreign reciprocal partners who are overwhelmingly impressed and satisfied with the incredible personal sacrifice and leadership of Chief Tony Okoroji who has built COSON and made it a model and a source of pride to the creative community in Nigeria.

Just for the records, I am PROF. SIR VICTOR UWAIFO JP, MON. I am 76 years old. I am a musician, well known all over the world, a composer with a rich repertoire of musical works and sound recordings, an intellectual, a professor of Fine and Applied Arts, a key founding member of COSON and a subscriber to the COSON Memorandum & Articles of Association. I have served on the Board of COSON, been involved with the progress made by COSON in the last 7years under the inspirational leadership and energy of an uncommon Nigerian and with your invisible presence as Director-General of the NCC. I have also held several distinguished political appointments.

If I wanted to be sectional or parochial, I would have thrown my weight behind Mr. Efe Omorogbe who is from my State and with whom I have an ongoing close professional relationship. At my age, if I had done that, I would have done a disservice to generations of Nigerian musicians and investors in the music industry and my conscience would not be at rest.

Despite my close relationship with Efe Omorogbe, he is not the choice of COSON members at this time and no one in Abuja or elsewhere can change that.

I have read the letter written to you by the Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami ordering you to approve another CMO in the same class of works administered by COSON so as to create commotion within our industry and wipe out the most successful organization in the history of the Nigerian Creative Industry.

Anybody reading the letter from the AGF can immediately see that you know that the order given to you is both unlawful and ultra vires. You however did not have the courage to refuse to carry out this unlawful order. The commotion caused by your action has set in what appears to be a conspiracy to get rid of Chief Tony Okoroji, the one man you all know has the knowledge, experience, personal conviction and courage to resist the seeming plan to shake down users of music content across Nigeria in billions of Naira and set our industry back.

Your letter dated February 19, 2018 addressed to the General Manager of COSON, REF: NCC/DG/132/1/66 which went virile on the social media even before it got to the recipient is a clear testimony of bad faith on your part in the handling of the affairs of COSON. Since your letter to COSON was widely published to inflict the greatest injury, I have no choice but to ensure that this letter is also widely published in the internet to set the records straight. 

 

As a Commission, one would have expected that you will be more concerned over the other moribund Collecting Societies that were approved several years ago by the commission with nothing to show and the biting piracy militating against the creative industry rather than meddling and destabilizing COSON which is being run professionally and which has the requisite capacity to deal with its internal issues.

I do not know how much you are aware of the history of the Nigerian Copyright Commission which you now head and from which you are issuing orders as if you are God Almighty. It was the same Chief Tony Okoroji that galvanized the entire nation with unsurpassed advocacy and massive demonstrations in Nigeria that forced the government to promulgate the copyright law. The young man risked his life for this. He could have been killed by the military government at that time. He participated in drafting the Copyright law with the help of others like Prof. Egerton Ovieghara who became the first Chairman of the NCC. Chief Okoroji’s successful agitation culminated in the setting up of the NCC.

It follows that everyone employed by the NCC including yourself and the many thousands who today benefit from the copyright system in our nation owe this unique Nigerian a debt of gratitude. Sadly, there appears to be concerted effort to destroy his good name and character to achieve a perfidious objective.

It is important to reemphasize that you stay away and refuse to be used anymore as a tool in any action that can lead to the instability and possible disintegration of COSON, Nigeria’s most successful organization in the creative industry ever. Please avoid any friction between the members of COSON and the leadership of your Commission which will serve no good.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Chairman of COSON freely chosen by the members of COSON is Chief Tony Okoroji. We have tried him and found him worthy of our trust.

A word is enough for the wise!

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

PROF. (SIR) VICTOR UWAIFO JP, MON

CC:   President Mohammadu Buhari GCFR

          President of Nigeria

          Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN)

          Vice President of Nigeria

          Senator Bukola Saraki

          President of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria

          Hon. Justice Walter S.N. Onnoghen

          Chief Justice of Nigeria

          Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara

          Speaker, House of Representatives

         Alhaji Lai Mohammed

         Hon. Minister of Information & Culture

        Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama

        Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs

Your Excellencies, the above is for your information and necessary actions, please.

                                     

PROF. (SIR) VICTOR UWAIFO JP, MON

SIR VICTOR UWAIFO FIRES NCC DG, EZEKUDE OVER COSON (LETTER ATTACHED)

CELEBRATIONS AT COSON HOUSE AS COSON CHAIRMAN, CHIEF TONY OKOROJI RECEIVES ‘‘AFRICA’S PATRIOTIC PERSONALITY AWARD’’

CELEBRATIONS AT COSON HOUSE AS COSON CHAIRMAN, CHIEF TONY OKOROJI RECEIVES ‘‘AFRICA’S PATRIOTIC PERSONALITY AWARD’’

The magnificent COSON House in Ikeja on Friday February 23, 2018 played host to several students from around the African continent as COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji was bestowed with the prestigious ‘‘Africa’s Patriotic Personality Award’’ by the League of African Development Students (LEADS Africa) – an umbrella body of  democratic Students Union from different countries in Africa.

The 6-member team of LEADS Africa consisted of Njoku Obioma Daniel from Enugu State University, Abayomi Okuwoga from Lagos State University, Okafor Obiageli from the University of Benin, Benin Republic, Osisiogu Osikenyi from the Institute of Technology, Accra, Tagheli Jean Bedel from the Universite De Yaoundé and Morgan Gabriel from the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana.

Addressing the audience on the reason behind the award, the General Secretary, Osisiogu Osikenyi said, ‘‘It is noteworthy to say that we are here to honour Chief Tony Okoroji an erudite and proven authority in Africa’s creative space per excellence as ‘Africa’s Patriotic Personality of the Year in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Africa’s development via Copyright Advocacy, Human and Nation Building, True Democracy, as well as his meritorious service to God and humanity, and also COSON with ‘Corporate Mandate Delivery’ Merit Award the for the corporate commitment towards achieving the mandate for which it was set up. It is important to also emphasize the extent to which the mandate of COSON is enabling the continuous growth of Nigeria. We as an organization in the past 2 – 3 years have paid attention to the issue of non – oil revenue and that coinciding with the nose dive of oil prices that has been experienced, we have come to the realization that apart from Agriculture, the Entertainment sector and especially Intellectual Property, must be paid attention to by all as it is the next oil.’’

In his response, Chief Okoroji said ‘‘I want to commend you all for your efforts at integrating different countries in Africa at such a critical age for the development of our continent. I believe that the division we have in terms of countries are artificial. We are one people and we have one destiny. For the countries in Africa to work, people must build them. We need to begin to make sacrifices to build our nation even if it entails giving up our lives. That is a price we must pay for the youths of Africa so that the youths of Africa will no longer be risking their lives in the Mediterranean trying to get to Europe and then end up being sold as slaves, and our young girls will not have to sell their body on the streets around the world to make a living, because we have what it takes to build our continent.’’

‘‘I want to thank you all exceedingly on behalf of my family and on behalf of the management, staff and members of COSON for the honour you have done to us today. We say Thank you.’’ He concluded.

On hand to receive the team were the COSON General Manager, Chinedu Chukwuji, COSON Consultant, Prince Biodun Eguakhide, COSON Head of Finance and Administration, Bernice Eriemeghe, COSON Head of Corporate Affairs, Chibueze Okereke and COSON Head of New Media, Tolu Balogun. 

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BREAKING NEWS!!! COSON DECLARES VICTORY DESPITE BUBA’S JUDGEMENT AND PROMISES IMMEDIATE & VIGOROUS APPEAL IN CASE AGAINST AGF MALAMI & MCSN

BREAKING NEWS!!!

COSON DECLARES VICTORY DESPITE BUBA’S JUDGEMENT AND PROMISES IMMEDIATE & VIGOROUS APPEAL IN CASE AGAINST AGF MALAMI & MCSN

Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has said that it is celebrating the judgement of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1259/2017 filed by COSON against MCSN, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the Attorney- General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami.

Chief Tony Okoroji, the COSON Chairman, who led COSON to file the suit and who has led the unprecedented nationwide COSON protest against the 2-month withdrawal of the case file from the presiding judge was in court as the judgment was read on Thursday, February 13, 2018.  Also in court were other members of the COSON Board such as Sir Shina Peters, Kenny Saint Brown, Azeezat Allen, Richard Cole, Sharon Esco Wilson, Maureen Ejezie, etc. Also in court was Prince Biodun Eguakhide, the COSON Edo/Delta Co-Ordinator who has acted as COSON Head of Enforcement across the country.

Said Chief Okoroji after the judgment, “I am a thoroughbred copyright man with deep knowledge of the subject. While Buba’s judgment is confusing, it is still victory for the musicians of Nigeria. That was why we were singing and dancing in court. If the judgment was not delivered when it was, we may have had to start the matter all over again. With the judgment, we now have a throve of materials to immediately and vigorously take the matter out of the Federal High Court system to the Court of Appeal where the issues can be properly argued.

“Everyone knows that our objective was never judgement but justice. We are not naïve. This is a marathon and not a dash. After many weeks of arm-twisting, high level manipulation and blackmail, we knew that quite a bit of water would have passed under the bridge when the case file was returned and anything can happen. We have been prepared for every outcome. Regardless of what Justice Buba has decided, we will not go to sleep. We will not go to sleep until we stop the attempt to turn the Nigerian music industry into a gold mine belonging to no one, from where those who have made no investments nor contributions can cart away illicit billions while the true creators and investors languish in penury. Let the whole world know that we will not rest until the Malami MCSN Mafia (MMM), is finally banished from our industry, and peace, stability and progress are restored”

We are immediately going to the Court of Appeal on this matter. Our protest will continue. We will not sleep, we will not slumber. There will be no retreat and no surrender until justice is done”.

COSON HOLDS WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE, CALLS FOR THE RESIGNATION OF THE ACTING CHIEF JUDGE OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT, ABDUL KAFARATI

COSON CALLS FOR THE RESIGNATION OF THE ACTING CHIEF JUDGE OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT, ABDUL KAFARATI

Members of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) who have since January 15, 2018 been protesting at different Federal High Court locations across Nigeria have called for the resignation of the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul Kafarati, for his role in what COSON has called ‘a frightening new assault on the Nigerian Judiciary and an attempt to turn the Nigeria music industry into a gold mine belonging to no one, from where those who have made no investments nor contributions to the industry can cart away illicit billions of Naira while the true creators and investors in the industry languish in penury.

Addressing a mammoth world press conference at COSON House in Ikeja on Wednesday, January 31, 2018, Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman of COSON on behalf of the society said that it is the position of COSON that Justice Abdul Kafarati should not be confirmed as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. According to the words read by Okoroji, “it is clear to any serious observer that the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul Kafarati, is being played like a tambourine and has become the turntable through which much of this very bad music is coming out of the Federal High Court, an important national institution. Justice Kafarati is not in control. If all these can happen while he is in an acting capacity, what will happen if he is made the substantive Chief Judge?”

Stressing the resolve of COSON, Chief Okoroji said, “We will continue to protest until the arm twisting and blackmailing of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos is brought to an end, the Federal High Court of Nigeria is left free to do justice to all men as the judges deem fit and the Attorney–General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami is stopped from further meddling in the affairs of the Nigerian music industry.

“We will deploy our voices, drums, cymbals, trumpets, guitars and every other musical instrument available to us and we will employ our talents in our protest until the whole world hears us.

“We will continue this indefinite protest until the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) is returned to the supervision of the Minister charged with responsibility for culture as expressly provided in Section 51 of the Nigerian Copyright Act”.

Decrying the recent award of the sum of almost N6 billion against Mutichoice Nigeria to the group known as Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) which is facing seven pending criminal cases at the Federal High Court and which the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami ordered the Nigerian Copyright Commission to approve in 2017, despite the protest of the NCC, Chief Okoroji said that the development is bizarre because at the time the purported infringement took place, MCSN was not an approved collecting society and that there is a plethora of Court of Appeal decisions stating that without approval, MCSN cannot collect royalties in Nigeria.

Okoroji also said that a number of the works said to have been infringed are works in the repertoire controlled by COSON for which Multichoice Nigeria has obtained a legitimate license. Chief Okoroji said that COSON has received reactions from some of its international affiliates wondering what the hell is going on in Nigeria as some of the works for which MCSN was said to have received the award belong to these COSON affiliates and at no time did they assign the works to MCSN.

He asked for a precedent for the kind of award against Multichoice asking that if a single Nigerian company providing employment to hundreds if not thousands of Nigerian citizens can be said to liable up to the whopping sum of 6 billion Naira for copyright infringement in the broadcast of 18 songs then it would require the entire national budget of Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt to pay for the entire Multichoice content.

Asked the celebrated former president of PMAN, “For a nation that continuously says that it badly wants direct foreign investment, which rational person would want to come and invest his money in Nigeria and expose himself to this kind of frightful shake down?”

Chief Tony Okoroji who is one of Africa’s most respected authorities on Intellectual Property said, “Some of us have spent practically our entire adult lives campaigning for the respect for intellectual property rights in our country. Our campaign has been for a responsible intellectual property system. Rather than help the collective management of copyright in Nigeria, the kind of shake down of Multichoice which will ruin entire companies will turn decent people against the collective management of copyright and hurt our industry and our country. After Mutichoice, who will be next?”

At the Press Conference, COSON called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call Mr. Abubakar Malami to order. The society also called on the National Judicial Council and the National Assembly to ensure that there is a full and transparent probe of what is happening at both the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal High Court.

COSON has also asked the Federal Executive Council to direct the immediate return of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to the supervision of the Minister charged with responsibility for culture as expressly provided in Section 51 of the Nigerian Copyright Act so that the Commission can be properly deployed to the promotion of the Nigerian creative industry instead of being a tool for the pursuit of devious schemes as it is presently being deployed.

The society promised that on the issues, there will be no retreat and no surrender. One of the highlights of the Press Conference was the live presentation by Reggae Star, King Wadada of his new song titled ‘Minister of Injustice’ in protest of the undue interference of AGF Abubakar Malami in the music industry.