Month: October 2019

Nigeria’s most admired gospel music stars, their colleagues and thousands of fans are headed for the beautiful Revival Assembly in Ikeja which will be lit up in style on Sunday December 1, 2019 as the biennial red carpet national day of music, prayer and supplication to the Almighty tagged “COSON in the Church” holds. The nightingales will be joined by Nigeria’s most respected ministers of the gospel in the unprecedented show that will be streamed live on the Internet to all corners of the globe.

Gospel Music star, Kenny St Best (KSB) is coordinating the bevy of talents that will be on stage at the 2019 COSON in the Church. Master of Impressions, Koffi Tha Guru, will coordinate the masters of ceremonies and sleek comedians who will bring laughter to the House of God at the 2019 COSON in the Church. Both KSB and Koffi are key members of the Board of COSON, the fastest growing and most respected copyright collective management organization in the continent of Africa.

Host Pastor at Revival Assembly, Apostle Anselem Madubuko, a great supporter of the music industry, will host the event and co-ordinate the various ministers of the gospel from diverse denominations who will pray for the Nigerian nation and its people at the 2019 COSON in the Church.

Talking about the 2019 COSON in the Church, Chief Tony Okoroji, event producer extra-ordinaire and Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) said, “I believe that Nigerian entertainers from every tribe have fallen in love with the concept of “COSON in the Church” which we hold every two years. I expect our brethren to storm Revival Assembly on December 1, hold hands, pray and sing together at this special edition of COSON in the Church. This is a unique period for Nigeria and the Nigerian music family. It is important that we beckon on the Almighty to continue to shower His blessings on us. We certainly need to thank Him for not letting stability depart from us as we continue to heal the wounds that recently threatened the unity of the music family and almost drove us to disintegration”.

It will be recalled that two Federal Ministers and representatives of several state Governors were part of the awesome congregation at the last and memorable COSON in the Church which took place at Trinity House in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Said Chief Okoroji, “On the day of COSON in the Church, Nigerians can sing with us and pray to the Almighty as one and show the world that despite our challenges, we will move ahead and build a nation where every child has the promise of a future. We will be beaming this non-denominational event live so that people everywhere can join us in prayers and in songs in praise of the Almighty”.

 

Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), one of Africa’s foremost copyright collective management organizations for musical works and sound recordings, has filed an action at the Federal High Court Lagos against Access Bank PLC claiming the sum of two billion naira for the unlawful freezing of the accounts of the society.

The suit No FHC/L/CS/1777/2019 which was filed this Tuesday, October 8 by Mr. James Ononiwu of the top Lagos law firm of Whitedove Solicitors is accompanied by a 40 paragraph Statement of Claim and 18 exhibits.

In the suit, COSON is asking for a declaration that the freezing of its accounts with Access Bank without any court order whatsoever is illegal, unlawful, null and void.

The organization which pays royalties to musicians across the country has also asked the Federal High Court for an order directing Access Bank to immediately unfreeze the Plaintiff’s accounts with the bank, frozen without any court order whatsoever and release all restrictions placed on the Plaintiff from running its accounts.

Beyond the unfreezing of its accounts, COSON is claiming a total of two billion naira as general and special damages as well as damages for the loss of reputation and goodwill arising from the deception of the Defendant and an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant or the agents, privies or servants of the Defendant from further freezing the accounts of the Plaintiff or placing any restrictions on the accounts of the Plaintiff without a valid court order;

In its statement of claim, COSON stated that it has never borrowed money from Access Bank neither has it ever overdrawn from its account with the Bank and that as a result of the continued freezing of its accounts by Access Bank without any court order whatsoever, royalties due to the members and affiliates of COSON have been significantly unpaid causing tremendous consternation and instability within the Plaintiff.

The copyright organization said that it verily believes that if the Court does not intervene to put a stop to the vicious behavior of the bank to COSON, the bank will be emboldened to continue to be lawless and to seize the funds belonging to other of its customers without any court order whatsoever.

In the Statement of Claim, COSON also says that the behavior of Access Bank strongly demonstrates that the bank has special interest in withholding the funds of the Plaintiff and that the bank is acting a script to grind the Plaintiff to a halt as the bank has taken extraordinary steps to continue to withhold the funds of the Plaintiff, a customer of the bank which has trusted its funds to the Defendant and which customer has done nothing wrong to the bank.

In a related development, COSON lawyer, Mr. James Ononiwu who filed the suit, said, “I have said it several times that anyone, no matter who he is or what institution he represents, that lands one blow at COSON will receive five hot blows in return. The members of COSON are determined that no one will intimidate or crush this great Nigerian institution of creative people. They have told us to follow anyone who wishes to mess with COSON anywhere, to the Supreme Court and back. That is our brief and that is a brief we hold dear to our hearts. We join members of COSON across Nigeria in saying, ‘Let the music pay!’”