Tony Okoroji (COSON), Efe Omorogbe (Now Muzik) Face-off, Heat Up Music Industry After Court Judgement

*Chief Tony Okoroji and Efe Omorogbe 

The face off between Nigeria's top music personalities, Tony Okoroji of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and Efe Omorogbe of Now Muzik, has blown up again, with both parties throwing press releases that contradicts other party and entrenches the rift between them.

Erstwhile friends and working partners, their disagreements over music issues has overtime resulted in legal battles which the latest press releases exposes further.

Check below, the press release from COSON:

FEDERAL HIGH COURT NAILS THE ‘COFFIN’ OF EFE OMOROGBE’S AMBITION TO BE COSON CHAIRMAN

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos this Wednesday, July 12, 2023, has brought to an end the 5-year-old battle of one Efe Omorogbe to be declared Chairman of Nigeria’s biggest copyright collective management organization, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON). Hon Justice Olayinka Faji of the court in a long-expected decision has dismissed SUIT NO: FHC/L/CS/1779/2018 brought by Efe Omorogbe to be declared Chairman of COSON and stated that the suit is an abuse of court process. Justice Faji also awarded a cost of N750,000.00 against Mr. Omorogbe and his co – plaintiffs which cost he said must be paid within 7 days.

 

Mr. Omorogbe had been joined in the failed suit by Mr. Obi Asika, Mr. Audu Maikori, Mr. Dare Fasasi, Alhaji Sikiru Agbola and Mr. Joel Ajayi, all former members of the COSON Board. They had asked the court to declare that they were still Directors of COSON. All the plaintiffs were removed from the COSON Board by a COSON Extra- Ordinary General Meeting held in December 2017 which restored Chief Tony Okoroji as Chairman of COSON and removed Efe Omorgbe & Co for allegedly plotting and executing a ‘coup’ to topple the Chairman of COSON from his position.  

 

It will be recalled that another Federal High Court judge sitting in Enugu had before now ordered Mr. Omorogbe to stop parading himself as COSON Chairman, an order which still subsists.   

  

Reacting to the decision of Justice Faji, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, said, “I am of course very happy about another victory at the courts. I wish to thank Justice Faji for his well-reasoned decision. I know that there are friends of COSON who were worried that the disagreements within COSON would lead to the weakening or disintegration of this great private sector Nigerian institution respected internationally. The truth is that subjecting the issues to the examination of the courts has made COSON stronger. The Board is today very stable. The membership has continued to grow. The management is top class and I guarantee that great work will continue to go on at COSON for the benefit of all COSON members and the Nigerian state.

 

“With the intervention of the courts, the dos and don’ts have become clearer to our industry. We have proven that everyone must pay a price for “jankara” behaviour and that such behaviour has no place in a civilized society. The calm and patient legal steps we have continued to take prove that everyone must follow due process and not react to uncontrolled temperaments. Our continued success shows that there are very good judges in our judiciary and not everyone is corrupt or inefficient. It is critical that the judiciary continues to prevent anarchy in the society. That is one of the great legacies I hope we will leave for the next generation.”       

 

The COSON Board is currently made up of the Chairman and celebrated fighter for the rights of creative people in Africa and former President of PMAN, Chief Tony Okoroji; Afro-Juju Superstar, Sir Shina Peters; Gospel music minister, Kenny Saint Brown; Ace-drummer and producer, Richard Ayodele Cole; Reggae gospel star, Righteousman Erhabor; Showbiz Impresario, Koffi Idowu Nuel also known as Koffi Da Guru; Singer, Producer and TV host, Nimyel Nansel, better known as Zdon Paporella; Vivacious performer and first daughter of the legendry Ras Kimono, Oge Kimono and well-known Enugu based music toaster and publisher, Sir Angus Power Nwangwu.

 

Also on the Board is the music publisher and war horse of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria (CCRN), Chief Uche Emeka Paul, Gospel Music Minister, Evangelist Olusegun Omoyayi and National President of Music Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (MUPMAN), Engr Sharon Esco Wilson.

 

COSON was represented at the Federal High Court by Mr. James Ononiwu and Mr. M.H. Obat-emi of Whitedove Solicitors while Mr. Efe Omorogbe and Co were represented by Mr. Oladapo Ademola of AOA Legal & Advocates.

End

And now, the Press release from Efe Omorogbe (Now Muzik)

SPIN DOCTORS : COSON RAMPS UP PROPAGANDA TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM THE MORBID STENCH OF A CRITICALLY AILING CMO.

Contrary to what the Tony Okoroji-led board is desperately trying to sell, the Federal High Court ruling of July 12, 2023, by the Honourable Justice Olayinka Faji on SUIT NO. : FCH/L/CS/1778/2018 is not definitive in the context of the fundamentals of the COSON chairman/board matter. No court has determined who the rightful chairman/board members of COSON are. All that the court decided was that since the Enugu case was filed first, the parties ought to see that through one way or another before starting another one in Lagos.  The court did not hear arguments on or decide on any issues regarding the chairmanship of COSON and those issues remain live. The Enugu case is still pending and the process will resume after the court vacation. While the case to determine the legality or otherwise of the purported reinstatement of Tony Okoroji is important and pending, the real concern of stakeholders should be the disheartening state of ruin COSON has been plunged into by the board.  Among the litany of woes besetting the once admirable CMO are; (i) Failure to secure renewal of its operating licence since it expired in 2018. (ii) Failure to publish the report of the forensic audit the board claimed it commissioned KPMG to execute since 2020. (iii) Failure to carry out specific distribution of royalties to key members since 2018. (vi) Failure to resolve the general distribution impasse since the November 2020 Federal High Court ruling declared the practice illegal.  (iv) Suspension from CISAC – the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers –  and loss of reciprocal partner status with PRS and other international organizations.  (v) COSON's pariah status has also been compounded by IPFI's  (The International Federation of the Photographic Industry) decision to distance itself from the Nigerian C.M.O.  (vi) Loss of significant local repertoire and failure to attract the key new and emerging talents and rights holders. (vii) Consistent and worsening haemorrhaging due to dwindling collections and rising administration cost. In 2021 COSON reported a royalty income of N113,655,507 and an administration cost of N123,682,588, a deficit of N10,027,081. The resolution of these and other serious problems choking the life out of COSON should be the focus of well-meaning stakeholders. The board's obsession with self-aggrandizing spin-doctoring is nothing but an attempt to distract the public from the conduct and actions of individuals that have crippled COSON and done tremendous harm to the collective management of copyright in Nigeria.  Signed: Efe Omorogbe.  For/on behalf of: Dare "Baba Dee" Fasasi Obi Asika Audu Maikori. Sikiru Agboola  Joel Ajayi. End We spoke to a few other top personalities in the Nigerian music industry about the above feud and disagreement and the opinions that we have been receiving has been calls for all parties to call off the fights for the good of the industry in general. But from what it looks like, parties involved are too far gone into the matter, to retreat! But who knows, the future still looks bright, Chief Tony Okoroji and Efe Omorogbe, may one day hug each other in mutual sincerity and also work together in unity.  Now if that ever happens, that will be a great day for the Nigerian music industry, because both parties, sincerely love the industry and have so much to offer the industry at large.