Nigerian singer David Adeleke often known as Davido has been ordered to appear before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan within 21 days to respond to claims of intellectual property theft, regarding court documents obtained by Peoples Gazette.
The lawsuit, filed by four Nigerian musicians—Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru—accuses the artist of using their 2022 song “Work” to create his 2024 track “Strawberry on Ice” without proper authorization.
In addition to Davido, the suit also names Emmerson Amidu Bockarie, known professionally as Emmerson, who featured on the track, as well as Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and Wynn Records, the company responsible for distributing “Strawberry on Ice.”
The plaintiffs claim that in January 2022, they shared a demo of their song “Work” with Davido, hoping to collaborate on the track. However, they allege that instead of pursuing a collaboration, Davido passed the song to Emmerson, who allegedly sampled it and used elements of it in the creation of “Strawberry on Ice.”
Following several attempts to resolve the matter amicably, the plaintiffs reportedly reached a settlement agreement with Davido in March 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, the singer was supposed to pay $45,000, alongside providing the plaintiffs with 40% of the composition royalties and 20% of the sound recording royalties for the song. However, Davido failed to meet the March 24 payment deadline, prompting the lawsuit to be filed on April 4.
The plaintiffs are now seeking $150,000 in damages, the transfer of 40% of the compositional copyright, and 20% of the sound recording copyright for “Strawberry on Ice,” along with an injunction to prevent further use of their intellectual property.
