Afrobeats singer Davido has been summoned to appear in a New York court within 21 over intellectual property theft. He is accused of stealing a 2022 song to create a soundtrack for his own music. The singer reportedly failed to honor an agreement that required him to pay the affected artists a sum. The artists are asking for the original payment owed and an additional $150,000 in damages. Meanwhile, Davido has 21 days to answer the court’s summons.

Davido Summoned To Court Over intellectual property theft

A U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan has summoned Nigerian singer Davido. The Afrobeats hitmaker has 21 days to answer the court’s summons. According to legal documents Peoples Gazette obtained, David Adeleke, AKA Davido, is to appear in court for intellectual property theft. The Assurance singer has been summoned alongside Emmerson Amidu Bockarie, popularly known as Emmerson, Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, and Marques Miles II.

Emmerson is featured in Strawberry on Ice, the song involved in the dispute. Wynn Records, the recording agency that published and distributed the song, has also been named in the lawsuit. Four Nigerian artists—Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru—filed the lawsuit. They allege that Davido made his soundtrack for Strawberry on Ice from their song Work without permission.

Davido Failed To Pay $45,000 To Group

After realizing that he used their demo for personal gain, the group asked Davido to pay for intellectual property theft. They claimed they gave him the demo in good faith, hoping to collaborate with him. However, the singer gave Emmerson the song, and the latter sampled individual recorded instrumentals and vocal elements from Work. Court records obtained by the outlet showed that Davido agreed to pay $45,000 in settlement on March 14, 2025.

He also agreed to give the group 40 percent royalties for the underlying composition of Strawberry on Ice. Additionally, he was to pay 20 percent royalties for the sound recording. However, Davido reneged on his promise to the plaintiffs and failed to make any payments by the agreed-upon deadline. Consequently, they filed a lawsuit against Davido and others for intellectual property theft in the U.S. on April 4.

The complainants are asking the court to grant that Davido and his co-defendants committed intellectual property theft. They are now seeking $150,000 in damages. They also seek 40 percent of Strawberry on Ice’s compositional copyright and 20 percent of the song’s sound recording copyright. Additionally, the plaintiffs have requested a ban on Davido and his co-defendants to prevent them from future intellectual property theft.

Davido Reacts to Intellectual Property Theft Lawsuit

Davido, who is enjoying his marriage to Chioma, reacted to the news of the group’s intellectual property theft lawsuit shortly after it broke out. Rather than address the news directly, the singer focused on his upcoming album, 5. He reshared a post by Bennydajeweller, who is making the FIA singer’s pendant for the album, on his Instagram Stories. The post featured an image of the pendant shaped like a 5. “Biggest pendant in the world about to be done for @davido for the 5 album,” the caption read, adding. “Let’s go.”

The lawsuit against Davido, alleging intellectual property theft, has disappointed the singer’s fans. Hopefully, the Afrobeats star will make things right and pay the group what he owes them.

#Clique, what do you think about the court summoning Davido? Let us know in the comments.