A high-profile legal dispute has cast uncertainty over the ownership of Grammy-winning Afro-fusion star Burna Boy’s early musical works.
960 Music Group, a minority shareholder in Aristokrat Music, has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the multimillion-dollar sale of the singer’s catalogue from his former label to his current company, Spaceship Music.
Court documents reveal that Aristokrat Music sold the intellectual property and master recordings from Burna Boy’s formative years to Spaceship Music — a company owned by the artist and his mother-manager, Bose Ogulu — in a transaction dated May/June 2024.
Holding a 40% equity stake in Aristokrat Music, 960 Music Group claims it was completely excluded from the deal. The company alleges that the sale was carried out without its knowledge, consent, or the necessary board approval.
According to Channels TV, 960 Music has approached the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to nullify the transaction, describing the catalogue as Aristokrat’s “crown jewel asset.”
The civil suit has also triggered a criminal investigation. The Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) has filed charges against Piriye Isokrari, Aristokrat Records’ founder and CEO, accusing him of fraudulent conversion and breach of fiduciary duty. Investigators allege that proceeds from the sale were diverted for personal use or transferred outside company accounts.
960 Music contends that Isokrari bypassed corporate governance procedures to strike a private deal with Spaceship Music, undermining the rights of minority shareholders.
The dispute leaves the ownership of Burna Boy’s early hits in legal limbo. A ruling in favour of 960 Music could compel Spaceship Music to relinquish the rights to the singer’s foundational catalogue.
