The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued a 21-day summons to Nigerian singer David ‘Davido’ Adeleke, directing him to respond to allegations of intellectual property theft, according to court filings obtained by Peoples Gazette.
The lawsuit, filed by Nigerian artists Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru, accuses Davido of unlawfully using their 2022 song “Work” to create his 2024 track “Strawberry on Ice.”
Also named in the suit are Sierra Leonean artist Emmerson Amidu Bockarie (professionally known as Emmerson), as well as Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and Wynn Records — the label responsible for producing and distributing “Strawberry on Ice.”
According to the complaint, the dispute stems from a 2022 interaction in which the plaintiffs allegedly shared a demo of “Work” with Davido in hopes of a future collaboration. The artists claim the material was later used without consent or credit.
