News – COSON

TEXT OF PRESS BRIEFING BY COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF NIGERIA (COSON) –COSON HOUSE, IKEJA LAGOS – FEBRUARY 19, 2026

ABUBAKAR MALAMI’S SCAM MACHINE FOISTED ON THE NIGERIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY TO SIPHON MONEY FROM INNOCENT NIGERIAN MUSICIANS, MUST BE DISMANTLED NOW!

Gentlemen of the Press,

On behalf of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), by far, Nigeria’s biggest copyright collective management organization, with members and affiliates spread across the nation and across the world, I welcome you to this very important press briefing.

When on 15^th January, 2018, I embarked on a week-long open demonstration in front of the Federal High Court, Lagos, against Mr Abubakar Malami SAN, then Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice,debatably, the most powerful man in Nigeria, it was after several meetings with Mr. Malami in his Abuja office. Mr Malami’s words and arguments had left me trembling and scared about the damage such a man, with his dangerous mindset and the enormous power he was wielding, could do to the future of Nigeria and how many years it would take our nation to repair the damage.

I vividly recall the arguments I had with Mr Malami after I pleaded with him to ensure that Nigeria’s Copyright Law was fully implemented. He replied me that he was not interested in law, and that he was driven mostly by “national interest”.When I asked him if upholding the law is not in the national interest, he answered that he saw it differently. Then I asked him who determined this “national interest” he was talking about and he did not answer me.

I was bewildered that a qualified lawyer, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the nation’s Attorney-General and Chief Law Officer, did not understand that respect and adherence to the rule of law were the foundation of the progress of every nation, and that in a democracy, no one man has the sole authority to determine “national interest”.

I was shocked that Abubakar Malami boldly went to the2018 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Associationto repeat to the lawyers gathered the same “National Interest” theory he had argued with me.

I honestly wondered whether with his training, Malami’s said theory represented his true understanding of how nations growor if it was a maneuver and he was hiding behind the phrase, “national interest” to achieve his own objectives.

When I began my demonstrations against Malami, several friends and relations called me to warn me about the dangers of publicly opposing a man with the huge powers Malami exercised. Malami was known to be lawyer to General Muhammadu Buhari during the many years he contested elections to be a democratically elected President of Nigeria. To compensate Malami, when Buhari became President, he appointed Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice.

As a result of Buhari’s persistent ill health, his need for continuous travel abroad for treatment and a curious lack of full grasp of legal issues, Malami seized what he considered to be a national vacuum and unleashed his “national interest” theory and became the de facto emperor of Nigeria, controlling the nation’s security and allied agencies andmanipulating the judicial system and began the amassing of dizzying wealth that was intended to be unleashed and to eventually be deployed to grab political power for himself.

It was well known that Malami had the ambition to become Governor of Kebbi State and had set up what he called “Khadimiyya for Justice & Development Initiative”, a special purpose vehicle being used to raise money for his partisan electioneering campaign. As Chairman of COSON, I was indeed approached to contribute money towards the fund. I refused because I have never been a member of any political party and do not contribute money to partisan politics.

I spoke with some Ministers in the Buhari government who only spoke about Malami in whispers.They were afraid of him. The revelation that the EFCC has traced properties worth over a whopping N212 billion to Abubaka Malami should make everyone sit up. The pocketing by one man and his family not known to be engaged in any significant manufacturing enterprise, any serious trading business or any special service delivery activity,of this frightening amount of money which is bigger than the budget of some states in Nigeria, is the true reason why millions of Nigerians live in abject poverty and penury and many see very little future for our country and have turned to crime that threatens all of us.

The humungous amount of money said to have been traced by the EFCC to Malami may just be a mere fraction of the fortune tucked away by this man who seems to have his hands in every pie including the so-called recovered Abacha loot which is re-looted by deploying fantom legal consultants who pocket multi- million dollars in commissions for purportedly writing agreements which many lawyers at the Federal Ministry of Justice can easily do for nothing.What of the Paris Chub refund brouhaha?

Following Abubakar Malami’s appointment by Buhari, on November 25, 2016, I had led a COSON delegation to meet with him in his office at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja.I spoke to him about the significant work we had done over several years to unite the different organizations in the Nigerian music industry under what we called the Nigerian Music Industry Coalition and that we had set up the framework for an industry with potentials for tremendous employment of our youth and wealth creation and growth for the Nigerian nation. We sought the assistance of the Attorney-General to actualize the plans. One of the initiatives we discussed with Mr Malami was what we called the Private Copy Levy scheme.

At a meeting, during the period I was on the Board of the Nigerian Copyright Council (NCC), now, Nigerian Copyright Commission, I had proposed to the Board the possibility of instituting a scheme to recoup for the benefit of copyright owners the enormous amount of money lost to the millions who use modern technology, such as blank tapes, writable CDs, flash drives, photocopy machines and paper, smart phones, etc.,to freely copy music, videos, books, etc. Similar schemes had started working in Scandinavia and even some countries in our region such as Ghana and Burkina Faso.

The NCC Board which had some of Nigeria’s finest brains and patriots such as Prof. Egerton Uvieghara; Prof Vincent Chuckwuemeka Ike, Prof E.J. Alagoa, Prof Zaynab Alkali, Dr. Bruce Onabrakpeya, Prof H.I. Hagher, Mr Ade Afolayan, Mr Frank Aig Imokhuede, etc., exhaustively debated my proposal.

I was thereafter mandated to work with the late Professor Egerton Uvieghara, to produce a draft of the Private Copy Levy scheme, taking into consideration the peculiarities of Nigeria, as part of the Amendment to the Copyright Law being considered by the Board. Mr. Bayo Aiyegbusi, a senior staff of the NCC acted as our secretary. Our draft was approved by the Board and proposed to the government. It was signed into law on December 28, 1992 as part of the Copyright Amendment Decree No 98 of 1992.The provisions were captured as Section 40 of the Copyright Act, Cap C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and significantly reproduced as Section 89 of the present Copyright Act 2022.

Several years after I left the Board of the Nigerian Copyright Council, I was invited by the NCC to assist them in writing the necessary regulations for the take-off of the Private Copy Levy scheme.I worked in Lagos with the assistance of Mr Chinedu Chukwuji, then General Manager of COSON and Mr. Mike Akpan, a member of staff of the NCC to produce the regulations which was forwarded to the NCC andpublished in the Federal Gazette as Copyright (Levy on Material) Order 2012.

Under the Private Copy law and Regulations, a small levyis imposed and collected by the Nigerian Customs Service. This levy is paid by local manufacturers and importers of such items as blank tapes, writable CDs, flash drives, photocopy machines and paper, smart phones, etc., which items are freely used to copy music, videos, books, etc. The money collected by the Customs is paid to the Nigerian Copyright Commission which retains a stated percentage for copyright enforcement. The bulk of the money is meant to be distributed as royalties to copyright owners through their different copyright collective management organizations.

At our meeting with Mr. Malami in 2016, he expressed great interest in the quick implementation of the Private Copy Levy Scheme. He invited two of his aides, Mr Okoi Obono-Obla and Mr. Sylvester Imhanobeand directed them to set up a committee with me and that we should meet within “two weeks” towards the speedy implementation of the Private Copy Levy scheme. Thereafter, I met with Mr Obla and Mr. Imhanobe and we agreed on a date for me to return to Abuja for the meeting.

I came back to Abuja as agreed but the meeting never held. At the Federal Ministry of Justice, I encountered deceit upon deceit. The more I looked, the less I saw. Mr Imhanobe took me through a merry-go-round. At the end of the day, it was clear to me that they were up to something. While I had spent years working to develop the Private Copy Levy scheme for the benefit of thousands of creative people in the country, at the Federal Ministry of Justice, they saw the Private Copy Levy scheme as a possible private money-spinning machine and had decided to concoct a different agenda to milk it.

On April 3, 2017, I had just returned to Lagos from attending the 75^th birthday ceremonies of Evangelist Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi’s in Abeokuta, when I got a call from a reliable source in Abuja, that without consulting anyone in the music industry and despite the strong protestation of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr Abubakar Malami was scheming to deceitfully have approved and licensed, the notorious group, Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) to collect and distribute royalties on behalf of innocent Nigerian musicians.MCSN’s controlling mind and alta ego is one Mayowa Ayilaran, who is not a song writer or composer, a music publisher or label owner, with absolutely no investment in the music industry and who has never been elected by the musicians of Nigeria to represent them in any form.An investigation will show that for 36 unbroken years, Mayowa Ayilaran has been the Chief Executive Officer of MCSN.

At that point, MCSN and its officials were facing 7 different criminal cases before several judges of the Federal High Court.Indeed, after investigations, an earlier attempt to license MCSN, was publicly nullified by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005.

Having manipulated the system for over 25 years, trial was scheduled to commence in April 2017 in each of the seven cases in which Ayilaran and MCSN were defendants. That was indeed the significant reason for the hyperactivity in which the Honourable Minister of Justice quickly ‘approved’ MCSN without due process so as to truncate the criminal cases against Mayowa Ayilaran.

The cases:

FHC/IKJ/CR/18/2012 – Hon Justice Olateregun-Ishola (Mrs)
FHC/IKJ/CR/19/2012 – Hon Justice Olateregun-Ishola (Mrs)
FHC/IKJ/CR/20/2012 – Hon Justice Olateregun-Ishola (Mrs)
FHC/L/351C/2012 – Hon Justice Babatunde Kwewumi
FHC/352C/2012 – Hon Justice Babatunde Kwewumi
FHC/363C/2012. – Hon Justice Babatunde Kwewumi
NCC/ABJ/CR/2/14 – Hon Justice Abdulazeez Anka

When in 2017, the Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, in a bizarre letter, directed the NCC to approve MCSN as a collecting society to collect copyright royalties for the Nigerian music industry, the leadership of the NCC was mystified by what Mr. Malami, a lawyer, was asking them to do. The NCC replied Mr. Malami giving him several reasons why what he was asking the commission to do was unlawful and dangerous.

The NCC objections did not deter the AGF. In a strongly worded letter dated 22nd March 2017, Mr. Malami ordered the NCC, despite the strong protestations of the commission, not only to immediately license MCSN, but to withdraw every case filed by the commission against MCSN including the seven criminal cases at the Federal High Court before Justice Mojisola Olateregun Ishola, Justice Babatunde Kwewumi and Justice Abdulazeez Anka.

Any young lawyer will tell you that the AGF has the power to file a ‘Nolle Prosequi’ to stop any case. In this situation, the AGF did not file a ‘Nolle’. He ordered the NCC to abruptly withdraw the cases, referring to the powers he said he had under Section 50 of the Copyright Act as it was, to give directives to the NCC. The only problem is that the law in Section 51 expressly vested the power to give directives to the NCC in “the minister charged with the responsibility for culture” and not the AGF. We are reasonably informed that Mr. Malami had to personally go to the different courts to stop the impending trial of the cases.

To protect their jobs, the staff of the NCC had to bow to the weird demands of Mr. Malami even though they knew very well that what they were doing is blatantly unlawful. Of course, eventually, they began to defend what they knew wasglaringly wrongso as to protect MCSN which we all know is Malami’s special purpose vehicle.

On learning about this strange development, I sought to see the AGF because I was sure that his directives would set the music industry on fire. I am very familiar with the Copyright Act; I served on the committee that drafted the Act as it was. I am familiar with the NCC; I was twice on the board of the NCC. I know the Nigerian music industry from several directions:as an artiste, a producer, a label owner, former President of PMAN, Chairman of defunct PMRS and Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON).

I met with the AGF in his Abuja office on April 5 and 6, 2017. After our discussions during which I gave to him a copy of the law and several related documents, Mr. Malami said to me that COSON was a monopoly andthat the Buhari government was against monopolies. I explained to him that across the world, because of the unique nature of CMOs,they are not profit-making organizations but companies limited by guarantee and are mostly monopolies. I referred him to the other two approved CMOs in Nigeria: Audio Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS) for the movie industry and Reproduction Rights Organization of Nigeria (REPRONIG) for the literary and publishing industry both of which are companies limited by guarantee and monopolies and till today remain monopolies. Mr Malamithen said to me that hedid not quite understand the issues but had acted out of persistent pressure from his S.A. (Media), one Salihu Othman Isa. He also told me that he was alarmed at some point with the unending pressure of Isa and that he had asked Isa what his interest was in the matter. I believed Mr. Malami.

To cut a long story short, I asked the AGF what he was going to do about the matter since he had become better informed. He looked at me, eyeball to eyeball, and said, “give me seven days”. Seven days passed and nothing happened. Another seven days went by and I called the AGF and there was no answer. I sent him a text and there was no reply. I followed up with an e-mail which received no acknowledgement. It became clear to me that I had been sold a dummy. Mr. Malami all the time knew what he was doing!

At COSON, we addressed a press conference on the issue. Thereafter, I was repeatedly sent very vile text messages by a very senior aide of Mr. Malami calling me names in gutter language. This was followed by mails threatening me with legal action.

When it became obvious that despite his promise, the AGF had pecuniary interest in the matter and would never address the problem, we took the issues to the Federal High Court by Originating Summons for a resolution. Justice Ibrahim Buba who was assigned the case was faced with intimidation so that he would not deliver judgment in the matter as he deemed fit.

On December 6, 2017, Justice Ibrahim Buba stepped into his court room in Ikoyi, Lagos. His court room was full to the brim. Justice Buba was scheduled to deliver an important judgment on the key question we had raised by Originating Summons, which was this: Under Nigerian law, was the syndicate, Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) properly approved as a collecting society and authorized to collect money on behalf of innocent Nigerian musicians, a matter that was important to the Nigerian creative industry?

In Malami’s rush to declare MCSN approved and save Mayowa Ayilaran and his gang from trial and get them to continue milking the music industry, wasthere any pretense or modicum attempt to follow due process? Were any steps taken to ensure that the mandatory requirement prescribed in the Copyright (Collective Management Organization) Regulations 2007 were followed?

The issues Justice Buba was to rule on included the following:

Did MCSN file an application with the NCC in the prescribed form as required under the Copyright (Collective Management Organization) Regulations 2007? Of course, the answer is a blatant NO.
Did MCSN pay the prescribed fee to the Federal Government as required under the Copyright (Collective Management Organization) Regulations 2007? The answer is a blatant NO.
Did MCSN submit the many documents required to be submitted to the NCC under the Copyright (Collective Management Organization) Regulations 2007 which documents are required to be evaluated before the grant of any approval? The answer is another blatant NO.
Who carried out the evaluation of the MCSN application, where and when? No one did.

What Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s Attorney-General did was tantamount to announcing that someone who did not register for an exam, never paid the exam fee and never sat for the exam had passed the exam in flying colours!

Justice Buba did not deliver the judgment. A visibly angry Buba announced that the evening before, he had received a petition against him from a party in the case, obviously trying to intimidate him. He announced that ‘come rain, come sunshine’ he would deliver the judgment on December 14.

Lo and behold, on December 14, Justice Ibrahim Buba still did not deliver the judgment. He said that the case file had been taken from him to Abuja and he had no choice but to adjourn the matter till further notice!

Mr Abubakar Malami, the very powerful AGF did not think that anyone would have the audacity to ask the questions we asked. He did not want our questions answered, hence the muscling of Justice Ibrahim Buba.

I thought I would never see a day in my fatherland when the rule of law would be so violently and brazenly assaulted. The courts were supposed to be the last refuge of the common man. I was startled by the precedent being set: a judge being arm-twisted so that he does not deliver judgment in a case as he deemed fit. For me, it was crazy!

I demonstrated for days and carried placards in front of the Federal High Court in Lagos and insisted that the case file be brought back to Justice Buba. The case file in Suit No FHC/L/CS/1259/2017 was eventually brought back but by then so much water had passed under the bridge…

Thereafter, I was subjected to unbelievable torture for having the boldness and audacity to insist on the rule of law in my country. I was subjected to unending defamatory statements. The Police, EFCC, DSS, NCC and NFIU were unleashed on me and my colleagues at COSON. One evening, I was abducted by five men bent on driving me to Benin City in the middle of the night and possibly wasting me on the way. The Almighty saved me. COSON bank accounts, my personal bank accounts and my private business accounts were all frozen even though there were just very little sums of money in the accounts, no kobo of which was obtained by any illegal activity. At some point, it was difficult for me to even buy food. I swore to defend my industry and my country and I remain satisfied that no great nation has ever been built by cowards.

In a startling showcase of Abubakar Malami’s duplicity, on 30^th April 2018, COSON received a letter from the NCC stating that the Attorney-General of the Federation had approved the suspension of the licence of COSON. Can you see that by trying to kill COSON, the man who says he does not like monopolies had just taken clear action to make MCSN a monopoly. His Special Purpose Vehicle for personal enrichmentand the enrichment of his cronies and lawyer friends was to be given an unchallenged authority for music copyright licensing, collection and distributionin Nigeria?! Thereafter, everything was done to stop the operations of COSON, the Nigerian organization set up by the music industryand respected by the copyright community across the world. COSON which by far has the largest membership of copyright owners in Nigeria and the biggest repertoire of musical works and sound recordings, in our sub regionwith the widest reciprocal representation partnership in nearly every country in the world had developed the database and infrastructure for copyright royalty distribution.

Obsessed by greed and avarice, Abubakar Malami, the man who told everyone that he was driven by national interestcast the interest of the Nigerian nation to the dogs and took every narcissistic step he could to destroy COSON which had taken the music industry many years of hard work to build. Without flinching, he set out to destroy the income of thousands of musicians, music publishers and label owners who are members and affiliates of COSON and extinguish the employment of the management and staff of Nigeria’s most accomplished creative industry organization.

The actions of Abubakar Malami and the total lack of due process set off a series of negative events in the music industry resulting in a lot of confusion, discord and multiple litigations. As a consequence, the industry has lost several billions of naira and many musicians and music industry investors have died without getting the benefits of their labour.

Upon Malami’s purported approval of MCSN to license, collect and distribute music copyright royalties, an unrelenting shakedown began to pressure organizations doing business in Nigeria who deploy music in their operations. One of the well-known examples is the PayTV company, Multichoice, from which the sum of 2.7 billion Naira was grabbed and shared among the MCSN lords, their lawyers and enablers in government. Very few musicians in whose name the billions were obtained, ever saw one naira of the billions!This scandal of “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” continues to hunt the Nigerian music industry till today. The time has finally come for a proper investigation of who got how much from the Multichoice largesse.

To implement Malami’s mean agenda, Mr. John Asein, a retired former staff of the NCC was appointed Director-General of the commission on January 8, 2019. He has spent more than 7 years at the NCC carrying out the dictates of the former AGF. The appointment of Mr Asein resulted in numerous petitions as he was alleged to have been engaged in several fraudulent activities including continued collection of salaries from the Federal Government when he was no longer staff of the NCC or any agency of the Federal Government. Investigations of the petitions against Mr Asein by the Code of Conduct Bureau and the ICPC were stunted by Mr Malami and his officers at the Federal Ministry of Justice.One of the fall-outs of the war at the NCC was the sudden removal on October 15, 2020, of the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Commission, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja. Dr Jaja had opposed much of the deceitful Malami agenda being implemented by the D.G. including the sudden romance and adoption of MCSN which not long before, was being prosecuted by the NCC in seven different criminal cases at the Federal High Court.

In 2022, as the end of his tenure as AGF drew nearer, Mr. Abubakar Malami got engaged and married Nana Hadiza, the third daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari reported to already have six children for another man. We have been told that the maneuver was meant to install a shield around Malami and make him impervious to investigation and prosecution, with the belief that no one would dare probe the ultra-rich son-in-law of the military general who became Nigerian President.Nana Hadiza became Malami’s third wife.

Unfortunately, Karma strikes when it would strike. On 13^thJuly, 2025, it was reported that General Muhammadu Buhari had died in a hospital in London.In a twinkle of an eye, the bullet proof vest that the seemingly untouchable Malami had clothed himself with, evaporated and he suddenly became naked!

Nobody should cry for Abubakar Malami for the travails he and his family are undergoing. The injury caused to many by the activities of this man will take years to repair. Some of the injury may never be repaired. Let everybody learn that no matter how smart you think you are, Karma is real.

In the last several weeks, the Nigerian creative industry has practically been on fire. Apparently, the Nigerian Customs Service has released funds collected under the Private Copy Levy scheme which we first introduced to Abubakar Malami. It has become clear that the sum of 1.2 billion Naira has been allocated by the NCC under the leadership of John Asein to MCSN, Malami’s Special Purpose Vehicle, the leadership of which played no role in developing the scheme and which does not have the database or structure to manage the scheme. The development has sparked a lot of questions and agitations within the creative industry.

Among the many questions being asked are:

How much, on the whole, has the Customs Service collected with regards the Private Copy Levy scheme?
How much, has the NCC received from the Customs Service with regards the Private Copy Levy scheme?
How has the money received by the NCC from the Private Copy Levy scheme been shared to ensure that it equitably reaches all rightful beneficiaries?
Who, where and when was it decided on how the money is to be shared?

We wish to warn everybody that Karma is not done. As the Abubakar Malami experience shows, all those who think they are smart and are feeding fat at the expense of Nigerian musicians and the music industry will surely pay dearly for their greed.

Gentlemen of the Press, we have been unflinching, unwavering and unapologetic in building and maintaining COSON and ensuring that COSON is a world standard institution and a first-class organization that protects and promotes the rights of creative people in the Nigerian music industry and the music industry across the world. We have done this with utmost transparency. Without doubt, COSON is the most solid and formidable organization the Nigerian creative industry has ever built.

Every single year since the incorporation of COSON, we have had our accounts professionally audited. Recently, COSON invited one of the most respected accounting firms in the world and subjected itself to a complete 7-month forensic audit, something no other organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry has ever done. COSON has distributed hundreds of millions of Naira in copyright royalties to music industry stakeholders spread across the country in a most transparent manner. In the era of the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown, COSON sent badly needed money to its members across the country. Every year In the last three years COSON has distributed palliative royalties to thousands of musicians across the country.

Unfortunately, a man like Abubakar Malami who should protect us was told that COSON is a gold mine. So, he began to work assiduously with some fraudsters within our industry to appropriate the organization for themselves and their friends.

We have had to deploy the law, like no other organization in the history of Nigeria, to form a bulwark against the people, in and out of government, whose modus operandi has been to grab everything in Nigeria for themselves, their friends and families with no thought of the other people of Nigeria, the young people of our nation, our children and grandchildren. To them, we have said, “No Way!”

We have been to practically every court, everywhere in the land and held our heads high. Without the decisions of those distinguished Judges of the Courts who remain committed to truth and justice, COSON, this great pan Nigerian organization that has become the nation’s most formidable agent of strength, unity, progress and growth for the creative industry in Nigeria, would since have been sucked dry and wiped away.

I remember being warned to get out of the way or I will be crushed by the power of the state. I have made it clear that I am prepared to lay down my life in the defence of the rights of the creative people of Nigeria. It is my firm belief that no great nation on earth has been built by cowards.

We have been investigated and investigated and investigated. I am proud to say that nowhere has anyone in the leadership of COSON been found to have taken one Naira that does not belong to him.

What is good for the goose is also appropriate for the gander.

So today, COSON makes the following ten demands:

That to make certain that there is sanity and there is stability in the Nigerian creative industry going forward, the Federal Government must intervene immediately and ensure that the scam machine foisted on the Nigerian music industry by Mr. Abubakar Malami, the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation& Ministerof Justice, to enable him, his friends and cohorts to siphon money belonging to innocent Nigerian musicians and other creative people, is dismantled immediately.

That to ensure that the funds resulting from the private copy levy scheme are not frittered away or rapidly stolen, the Federal Government should immediately request that no money resulting from the scheme is shared or spent by anyone forthwith until an equitable process for the distribution of the funds between the various right owners is determined in an open and transparent manner.

That the purported approval/licence given to Musical Copyright Society Nigeria to collect royalties on behalf of innocent Nigerian musicians by Mr Abubakar Malami,the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation& Minister of Justice, without following due process, be immediately annulled in the same manner that the earlier approval/license given to MCSN was annulled by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

That the seven criminal cases at the Federal High Court instituted against MCSN and its officers which under bizarre circumstances were stalled by the immediate past Attorney General of the Federation, be re-opened and fully prosecuted by the Nigeria Copyright Commission or in the alternative, by a private prosecutor appointed by the Attorney General of the Federation.

That a thorough forensic audit of MCSN be mandated and conducted by a notable auditing firm to determine who received what from the 2.7 billion Naira obtained from Multichoice and all the other funds that have been collected by MCSN as royalties on behalf of Nigerian musicians, the music industry and foreign right owners.

That a thorough forensic audit of the Nigerian Copyright Commission be conducted to establish that the funds allocated to the commission have been justifiably utilized.

That a proper investigation of the sources of income of the leadership of MCSN be carried out without delay.

That after over seven years of implementing the agenda of Mr. Abubakar Malami, Mr. John Asein who has multiple petitions hanging on his neck be relieved of his position as Director General of the Nigeria Copyright Commission without delay and an even-handed person be appointed to head the commission

That all members of COSON should be warned that the recent desperate campaign of the leadership of MCSN asking right owners to join their discredited organization is to use them to cover up their long-standing deception and daylight robbery of the funds belonging to the musicians of Nigeria.

That no member of COSON should answer the call of the shameless, distressed and factionalized leadership of PMAN which fraudulently sold the land allocated by the government to build the PMAN Plaza in Abuja and pocketed the money and is now looking for Nigerian musicians to use as pawns in its fraudulent marriage with the leadership of MCSN to further defraud the musicians of Nigeria of billions of Naira belonging to them.

COSON assures its thousands of members and affiliates across the nation and its reciprocal representation partners across the world that COSON will continue to forcefully defend their rights and that transparency and accountability will continue to be the watch words of COSON.

OKOROJI DECRIES THE RE-INTRODUCTION & PROMOTION OF TRIBAL & ETHNIC DIVISIONS & HATE

As part of his “No Music Day”, live broadcast on September 1, Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), called on Nigerian creatives to call out any person engaged in brewing the treacherous liquor of tribal and ethnic intolerance and hate which he says led Nigeria to the past civil war that took the lives of millions of Nigerian citizens.
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Chief Okoroji, in the broadcast, streamed across the globe, touched on several issues bedeviling the country and posited that they are all rooted in what has become a sordid national culture of corruption and flagrant disrespect of the people in power for the rule of law.

In the broadcast, the former President of PMAN and best known activist for the rights of creative people on the African continent,said: “Yes, I very much recognize the deep despair in the land, the hunger that threatens the life of millions of Nigerians, the insecurity that has snatched the lives of so many of our countrymen and the anguish under which many Nigerians wake up in the morning and go to bed at night.

“Nigerian creatives cannot afford to give up on Nigeria. We must work together for the unity of our country and the progress of our nation. We have again begun to witness the dangerous re-introduction and promotion of very treacherous tribal and ethnic divisions and hate, some of the reasons that incubated the past civil war which brought horror to many of our countrymen and sent millions of our citizens to their death. We must not let this happen again to Nigeria. I call on Nigerian creatives to call out any person engaged in brewing this treacherous liquor of intolerance and hate.

“We must contribute to making Nigeria a nation in which our people, from the East, West, North and South, appreciate that our different languages do not mean different destinies. We must ensure that we use our music, our movies and skits; our literature, postings and the contents we publish, not to create suspicion and distrust but let our people know that though we might practice different religions, we worship the same God.

“On this “No Music Day 2025”, I pray for all Nigerians who are going through trials, tribulations and hardship and beg the Almighty to please meet their needs. God bless the Nigerian Creative Industry and God bless the great people of Nigeria”.

PRESS RELEASE: ON “NO MUSIC DAY” BROADCAST, OKOROJI ASKS FRIENDS OF GOVERNOR OTU OF CROSS RIVER STATE TO TELL THE GOVERNORTHAT IT IS NOT WEAKNESS TO OBEY COURT ORDERS

On this September 1, celebrated across the country as “No Music Day”, Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), delivered the traditional “No Music Day” live broadcast from COSON House in Ikeja, streamed nationally and internationally.

Chief Okoroji, in the broadcast, touched on several issues bedeviling the country and posited that they are all rooted in what has become a sordid national culture of corruption and flagrant disrespect of the people in power for the rule of law.

In the broadcast, the celebrated former President of PMAN and a foremost fighter for the rights of creative people in Africa, called on those close to Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State to tell the governor that it is not weakness to obey court orders.

Said Chief Okoroji, “A few weeks ago, the Board of COSON which I chair, issued a statement asking the Government of Cross River State to obey the Orders of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal and pay the debt of 500 million Naira awarded to COSON against the state government since 2018.

“Observed the Board, ‘the Cross River State Government is displaying the kind of recklessness and lawlessness a democratically elected government should never contemplate. We are not asking Governor Bassey Otu for a gift or a grant. We are asking him to obey court orders. We have followed due process. He is not above the law and has a duty to obey the Orders of two of Nigeria’s most prominent courts, the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal’.

Chief Okoroji reiterated that on Monday, May 14, 2018, in Calabar, the Federal High Court delivered a landmark judgment in which it awarded the sum of Five Hundred Million Naira to COSON against the Cross River State Government for copyright infringement at the Calabar Carnival. The court went further to grant a perpetual injunction against the organizers of the Calabar Carnival from further infringement of copyright in the musical works in the repertoire of COSON deployed at the carnival.

According to him, the judgment redefined the place of creativity in Nigeria and said it clearly that no one is above the law, including our governments, and no one has the right to publicly deploy the intellectual property of free citizens without authorization. According to the frontline nationalist, the judgment is a huge victory for every creative person in Nigeria. He reiterated that not satisfied with the judgment, the Cross River State Government went to the Court of Appeal and after about five years, still lost to COSON.

In the words of Chief Tony Okoroji: “We spent about ten years in court seeking and obtaining the historic judgments. It is now more than two years since the Court of Appeal decision. Those close to Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State should tell the governor that it is not weakness to obey court orders. It is his duty to uphold the rule of law. He should know that all the investment in the judiciary in his state will mean nothing if his legacy is the disobedience of court orders. Someone should remind him that he will not be governor forever. A day will come when his well-being may depend on the obedience of the order of a court”.

FOR COSON

Mandu Uwem Umoh

Senior Communication Executive

FULL TEXT OF 2025 NO MUSIC DAY BROADCAST

“THE SOUND OF SILENCE”

“NO MUSIC DAY”

2025 OFFICIAL BROADCAST

Made on behalf of the Nigerian Music Industry by the Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON)
Chief Tony Okoroji.
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Hello!

This Monday, September 1, 2025, the Nigerian music industry, once again marks “No Music Day”.

September 1 has been celebrated in Nigeria every year as “No Music Day” in remembrance of that historic day in 2009 when a group of Nigerian artistes began huge rallies in front of the National Theatre, Lagos, and went on a one-week hunger strike to protest the cruel abuse of the rights of creative people in Nigeria.

It will be recalled that on September 1, 2009, for the first time in human history, the music industry in a country called for the halt of the broadcast of music by broadcast stations all over the nation, for a whole day. This action captured the imagination of the world and Nigeria’s “No Music Day” was born.

September 1 in Nigeria, has become a day the music industry has dedicated to bringing the attention of the nation to the widespread infringement of the rights of song writers, composers, performers, music publishers, record labels and other stakeholders in the creative industry in Africa’s most populous nation, a battle that has been led primarily by Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and its thousands of members across Nigeria.

I welcome everyone to this year’s “No Music Day” broadcast, with the theme, “the Sound of Silence”.

Please, imagine a world without music. As popular as rice is, I have heard people say that they do not eat rice. As popular as football is, I know people who do not like football. I am yet to see anyone who says he does not like music.

Imagine that a bouncing baby is born and everyone comes to the naming ceremony and there is no music. Imagine that a man of great achievement dies and many come to the funeral and there is no music. Imagine the birthday parties we celebrate every day and the festivals we hold here and there, without music. Imagine our radio and TV stations without music, our hotels and nightclubs without music; no music in our cars, no music in our busses, no music on our cell phones and no music in our homes.

Do we realize how much music enables us to face and deal with the drudgery and challenges of everyday living?

Just think about life without music, the sound of silence all around us. What kind of life would that be?

It is my hope that after this broadcast,musicians across the country, music users, proprietors of event venues, culture administrators, broadcasters, intellectual property activists, and everyone who loves music,will partake in subsequently discussing the issues raised in this broadcast.

Permit me to rewind to15 years ago.Specifically on September 1, 2009, practitioners in the entire Nigerian creative family massed in front of the National Theatre in Lagos and for days, refused to eat or drink and demanded that the over 400 licensed broadcast stations in the country, who use music as the key raw material for their operations, should broadcast no music for a significant period of that day. So began what we have celebrated every year since, as “No Music Day”.

The mass hunger strike of the creative industry beginning on September 1, 2009, was a result of our frustration with the overwhelming level of intellectual property theft which is one of the malignant symptoms of a general national malaise. For instance, many of the broadcasting stations, who freely used other people’s property for their operations were in shock. Their proprietors asked how they would continue to operate without other people’s music which they had appropriated and deployed for free. They failed to consider that elsewhere in the world, broadcast stations pay for the music they broadcast.

Sadly, everywhere you turn in Nigeria, people have been reaping where they did not sow and comfortably stealing what does not belong to them. This has manifested itself in endemic corruption that threatens to ruin our country.

Each of the music we listen to is by law, someone’s property. In several countries in the world, this property has been aggregated to form huge industries providing livelihood to many.

There was a time when Nigeria hosted some of the biggest recording companies in the world: EMI, Polygram, Sony Music, Decca, CBS, etc. Each of these companies left the country because of the intolerable level of piracy resulting in many of our citizens losing their livelihood. From the piracy of vinyl records for which Alaba and similar markets were notorious, to the piracy of music cassettes, to the piracy of CDs and DVDs, to off-line piracy and in this digital age, to online piracy,Nigeria has unfortunately always led the way.

This sordid culture and penchant for reaping where we did not sow, has exposed Nigeria to the free-for-all looting of our national resources, which has left us with millions of hungry and desperate citizens suffering in the midst of plenty. This sordid culture of quick money-making at all cost has manifested itself in the massive banditry and kidnapping across Nigeria that now threatens the security of each and every one of us. The crass injustice in our land has forced millions of Nigerians to lose faith in the future of our country.

Sad as it may sound, many have concluded that there is no hope for Nigeria. Some even say that there must be something wrong with our genes.

I refuse.Nothing is wrong with our genes. While our politicians and so-called leaders, with their take-everything and give-nothing-in-return mentality, have left millions of Nigerians with devastating hunger, joblessness and unknown gunmen everywhere, several young Nigerians are flexing their muscles in different parts of the world and soaring in diverse fields.

I wish to remind you that Asake, Burna Boy, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tems, Flavour and many more are taking what is today called Afro Beats to the world and filling huge venues with rapturous fans paying pounds and dollars to see them.

One of the biggest football teams in the world, the English Premiership team, Arsenal has in their team four great footballers all with Nigerian blood: Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Noni Maduekeand Ethan Nwaneri.

Everywhere in the world, Nigerians are doing great things. Our problem is with our so-called leaders and their cohorts, who get to power by corrupting our electoral system, get into office to steal everything their eyes can see.

They go ahead to deploy the institutions and agencies of state as personal tools to enrich themselves, harass and do manifest injustice to others. When they lose powerand they are caught, they run and hide, and cover themselves under the duvet of tribalism. They then use all kinds of manipulations to corrupt and weaken the judicial system and deceive themselves that they have escaped justice forever.

Please, let me be clear: the rampant infringement of the intellectual property rights of songwriters, composers, performers, music publishers, record labels and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s creative industry does not stand on its own. It is not isolated. It is part of the national malaise and penchant for reaping where we did not sow.

Trust me, if we must bring about the end of the malignant infringement of copyright which has now moved from Alaba market to the internet, and threatens our creative industry, we must attack the problem from its roots.

Yes, we must uproot what has become a sordid national culture of corruption and flagrant disrespect of the people in power for the rule of law.

A few weeks ago, the Board of COSON which I chair, issued a statement asking the Government of Cross River State to obey the Orders of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal and pay the debt of 500 million Naira awarded to COSON against the state government since 2018.

Observed the Board, “the Cross River State Government is displaying the kind of recklessness and lawlessness a democratically elected government should never contemplate. We are not asking Governor Bassey Otu for a gift or a grant. We are asking him to obey court orders. We have followed due process. He is not above the law and has a duty to obey the Orders of two of Nigeria’s most prominent courts, the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

On Monday, May 14, 2018, in Calabar, the Federal High Court delivered a landmark judgment in which it awarded the sum of Five Hundred Million Naira to COSON against the Cross River State Government for copyright infringement at the Calabar Carnival. The court went further to grant a perpetual injunction against the organizers of the Calabar Carnival from further infringement of copyright in the musical works in the repertoire of COSON deployed at the carnival.

The judgment redefined the place of creativity in Nigeria and said it clearly that no one is above the law, including our governments, and no one has the right to publicly deploy the intellectual property of free citizens without authorization. The judgment is a huge victory for every creative person in Nigeria.

We spent about ten years in court seeking and obtaining the historic judgments. It is now more than two years since the Court of Appeal decision. Those close to Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State should tell the governor that it is not weakness to obey court orders. It is his duty to uphold the rule of law and that all the investment in the judiciary in his state will mean nothing if his legacy is the disobedience of court orders. Someone should remind him that he will not be governor forever. A day will come when his well being may depend on the obedience of the order of a court.

I say to my friends and colleagues in the creative industry that we can no longer hide our heads in the sand and pretend that the battle to wipe out corruption and lawlessness in Nigeria, and to enthrone good governance, does not concern us.

If we have accepted to live with the rot that we see everywhere in Nigeria, we must ask ourselves if it is in this rot that we want our children and grandchildren to grow up.

So, today, on this “No Music Day” I repeat my call on everyone in the Nigerian creative family to become generals and foot soldiers in the battle to rid Nigeria of the rot of corruption and bad leadership. We must deploy our voices, our writings, our movies, skits and drama to lead the war so that when the story is told it would be clear that we did not run from our responsibilities.

Let me state again that if we are coming to justice, we must come with clean hands. If we are going to fight corruption and lawlessness, we must be sure that we are not corrupt and lawless ourselves. If we are fighting bad leadership, we have to be absolutely sure that we are not providing bad leadership ourselves. In other words, we must practice what we preach.

So, I call on all the organizations in the creative industry to show good examples in the way we operate. I repeat that our organizations must betransparent and accountable. I state that no one should assume the leadership of any of our creative industry organizations without an open and clear mandate of the members from a free and fair elections. In each of our organizations, the abiding object must be to uphold and fight for the interest of our members and not the hijacking of the instruments of the organization for the enrichment of the leaders.

As we deploy our voices, our writings, our movies, skits and drama to lead the war against corruption, lawlessness and bad leadership in Nigeria, we must expose injustice wherever we find it.

Anywhere we see anyone manipulating and corrupting our electoral system, we must expose it, knowing that anyone who will steal an election, will steal everything else his eyes can see.

Anywhere we find any of our countrymen engaging in any of those fraudulent activities that deface the image of our country, we must expose it, knowing that we all pay a price when we cannot travel around the world with our heads held high.

On this “No Music Day”, I restate the determination of COSON to remain a transparent and law-abiding agent of strength, unity, progress and growth for the creative industry in Nigeria with the determination to shield the Nigerian music industry from scammers and marauders who work day and night to turn collective management of copyright into their personal cash cow and naira gushing ATM.

On this “No Music Day” 2025, I repeat my call on the creatives of Nigeria to bind together and work together for the good of all and to resist those who work day and night to divide us so that they can feast on that division.

As we fight the battle for the soul of Nigeria, at home, Nigerian creatives must continue to conquer territories and soar in every part of the world. Nigerian musicians must continue to pack venues, big and small across the world. Nigerian movies must be dominant everywhere we go. Nigerian fashion must be the toast of people in every part of the world. Nigerian sportsmen must conquer in every field, on every track, every court and every ring. Nigerian content must be the reference point on every platform.

Yes, I very much recognize the deep despair in the land, the hunger that threatens the life of millions of Nigerians, the insecurity that has snatched the lives of so many of our countrymen and the anguish under which many Nigerians wake up in the morning and go to bed at night.

Nigerian creatives cannot afford to give up on Nigeria. We must work together for the unity of our country and the progress of our nation.We have again begun to witness the dangerous re-introduction and promotion of very treacherous tribal and ethnic divisions and hate, some of the reasons that incubated the past civil war which brought horror to manyof our countrymen and sent millions of our citizens to their death. We must not let this happen again to Nigeria. I call on Nigerian creatives to call out any person engaged in brewing this treacherous liquor of intolerance and hate.

We must contribute to making Nigeria a nation in which our people, from the East, West, North and South,appreciate that our different languages do not mean different destinies.We must ensure that we use our music, our movies and skits; our literature, postings and the contents we publish, not to create suspicion and distrust but let our people know that though we might practice different religions, we worship the same God.

On this “No Music Day 2025”, I pray for all Nigerians who are going through trials, tribulations and hardship and beg the Almighty to please meet their needs. God bless the Nigerian Creative Industry and God bless the great people of Nigeria.

CHIEF TONY OKOROJI:

September 1, 2025

HOT! HOT!! – Full text of the COSON Lecture 2025

Please Read it here:

https://www.cosonng.com/download/coson_lecture_2_0.pdf

HOW TO JOIN THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER SCHEDULED FOR MAY 25, HAS NOW BEEN MADE PUBLIC

Sunday, May 25 is by the corner and the digital links for the many churches with significant Nigerian congregations around the world and individual Nigerians who have set up their Praise & Worship groups for the big National Day of Prayer, have now been made public.

Chapel of Christ the Light, Ikeja, the multi-denominational Christian center, on May 25, will be the epicenter of the much talked about national event at which the songs and praise of Nigeria’s topmost gospel singers and ministers of the gospel, will be beamed to millions of citizens, in towns and villages across Nigeria and across the world as Nigerian citizens seek the face of the Almighty, to intervene in the affairs of their nation so that the unbridled corruption that is imposing hunger and immense poverty on Nigerian citizens is banished from the land and the banditry, kidnapping and savage killings of innocent Nigerians which have imposed fear on the country, will become things of the past.

Chief Tony Okoroji, the celebrated former President of PMAN and present Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), whose members across Nigeria are driving the historic event, with the active support of several organizations like Gospel Musicians Association of Nigeria (GOMAN), Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria (CCRN), Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) Creative Industry Group (CIG), etc., has requested that the links be shared widely to every Nigerian Christian, everywhere in the world, so that everyone can fully participate in the historic prayer and worship event.

To join in the historic National Day of Prayer, from 4.00 pm, on May 25, the links are as follows:

YOUTUBE:https://www.youtube.com/@COSON.NG

FACEBOOK:https://wwwfacebook.com/coson9ja

INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/cosonnigeria

ZOOM:Meeting ID: 254 154 1207. Passcode: PRAYERS25

Participants may also join on the platforms of the National Day of Prayer partner organizations, such as:

CCRN: CCRNTVhttps://youtube.com/@ccrntv-online

GOMANhttps://youtube.com/@GOMANNATIONAL84

COSON General Manager, Mrs. Bernice Eriemeghe Ashibuogwu has said publicly that those who do not get invitation cards to Chapel of Christ the Light for “COSON in the Church” on May 25, do not have to worry, because Nigerians everywhere in the country and around the world, who organize their own Praise & Worship groups, can link up and fully participate in “COSON in the Church”, the National Day of Prayer, and receive the blessings of the Almighty.

Current reports show that Nigerian citizens everywhere are enthusiastically setting up their Praise & Worship groups for the National Day of Prayer. For instance, Pastor Dizzy K. Falola, the impactful Nigerian singer, who now pastors Power Church Internation in London, has said: “We will surely have our Praise & Worship Group at Power Church on May 25. We will also encourage our pastor friends and other Nigerians around the world, to set up their own Praise & Worship groups and join in a very powerful way, to drag our country away from the grip of the devil and the occult”.

May 25 will surely be a watershed day in the history of the Nigerian nation.

ALL SET FOR THE BIG 2025 COSON LECTURE TO HOLD ON MONDAY, MAY 26 IN LAGOS

The Auditorium of The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Victoria Island Lagos, will on Monday, May 26, witness a significant gathering of the brightest minds in Nigeria in the areas of law, the creative industry and the academia, as everything is set for the big 2025 COSON Lecture to be delivered by eminent legal and political player, Babatunde Ogala SAN, FNIM, Fbr, FIMC, OFR.

The lecture will be discussing the critical subject: “THE POLITICAL & LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF THE NIGERIAN CREATIVE INDUSTRY”

The presentation will be followed by a dissection of the lecture by distinguished discussants led by Prof Duro Oni, emeritus professor of Creative Arts and former Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos.

The other discussants will include Mrs Toke Benson Awoyinka, Hon Commissioner for Tourism, Arts & Culture – Lagos State; Dr Shaibu Hussein, Executive Director, National Film & Video Censors Board and Hon Jese Okey Joe Onuakalusi, Lawyer & Hon Member, House of Representatives.

Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji, is confident that all arrangements are on track to have a memorable lecture on May 26. Said Chief Okoroji: “The distinguished lecturer and Learned Silk, has assured me that the text of his lecture is ready. I am in touch with all the key discussants and each of them is set to make it an unforgettable day.

“The formal invitation cards for the lecture are in circulation but it is our intention that as long as there are seats available at the newly renovated auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, we will allow every member of the public who is interested to be part of the big discussion on the trajectory of the Nigerian creative economy, to be seated. The lecture is in line with the 2025 COSON Week theme – ‘Nigeria will rise again!’ We are charging no fees.”

As a high point of each of the COSON Week celebrations, the COSON Lecture has always brought together the brightest minds in the areas of law, the creative industry and the academia to dissect those issues which are shaping, the intellectual property ecosystem and the knowledge and creative economy.

The inaugural COSON lecture in 2013 was delivered by Prof Helge Ronning, Chairman, Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE) with His Excellency, Mr. Rolf Ree, Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, as Guest of Honour.

The 2015 COSON Lecture was delivered by Prof. Bankole Sodipo with His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Guest of Honour, and the nation’s unsurpassed legal luminary, Prince Bola Ajibola, as Special Guest.

The COSON Lecture in 2017 was delivered by the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, one-time Deputy Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Geneva based United Nations agency. The Chairman of the lecture was the nation’s guru of Intellectual property and commercial law, Emeritus Prof Egerton Uvieghara.

The last COSON Lecture was delivered by Mr. Emeka Mba, former Regulatory Affairs Manager for MultiChoice Nigeria, former Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and former Executive Director of National Film & Video Censors Board (NFVCB). Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, Chairman, Governing Board, Nigerian Copyright Commission, was Special Guest of Honour.

With the quality of the minds that have consistently gathered at each of the lectures, the COSON Lecture series has easily become Nigeria’s most sought-after event for the discussion of creativity, content, and developments in the new global knowledge economy and the continued growth of the very important Nigerian creative industry.

The COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, is assuring everyone that the 2025 COSON Lecture holding on Monday, May 26 in Lagos, will continue the tradition.

20 DAYS TO THE 2025 COSON WEEK: OKOROJI MOURNS THE DEATH OF DJ RAYMOND BOLA BROWN, A KEY MEMBER OF THE COSON WEEK TEAM

Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), has expressed shock at the sudden death of DJ, Raymond Bola Brown, a key member of the team that has been designing and planning to execute the “COSON Mega Jamz”, the first ever 24 hours non-stop music concert in Nigeria, set to hold at Freedom Park Lagos on May 29..

Said Chief Okoroji, “I was in Owerri, planning the burial of my elder sister’s husband, Ambrose, when I got this call from my very good friend and colleague, the celebrated drummer, Richard Ayodele Cole. Richard and I, call each other almost every morning to celebrate a new day and pray for each other. I thought it was one of those calls. This time, Richard said ‘I have bad news, very bad news … Bola Brown is dead!’ The cup I had in my hand fell down and shattered. My spirit went on a tail spin.

“A few days earlier, I had a fantastic meeting at Freedom Park with Bola Brown, Righteous Man, Amos Mcroy, Richard Cole and others. We were dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘t’s to give Lagos an unforgettable show as part of the COSON Week. ‘BB’ was excited and full of great ideas. We were all pumped up. It did not appear that anything was wrong with him.

“Raymond Bola Brown was a great guy with a smile, warmth and love for all. His death has left me devastated. I have tried very hard to accept the reality and to move on. I have called Theo Lawson, our friend, who runs Freedom Park, to commiserate with him. I know that Theo loved Brown like a brother. On the phone, Theo sounded broken. I extend my sympathy to the family, friends and many fans of DJ Raymond Bola Brown.

“In distress, I thought about cancelling the COSON Mega Jamz altogether. I have however come to the conclusion that it would be a disservice to the memory of a great guy who was the engine that drove the event. Without ‘BB’, it is now much tougher to do the Mega Jamz, but we will do it and use the event to celebrate this guy who was an encyclopedia of Nigeria’s popular music and the music industry. I want to ask everyone who can make it to come out to Freedom Park on May 29 for the Mega Jamz which will now be a celebration of not just Nigerian music and Nigerian musicians but that of a man who whole heartedly loved Nigerian music and musicians, DJ Raymond Bola Brown”.

BIG HONOUR FOR TONY OKOROJI IN LAGOS28 DAY TO THE MASTER-BLASTER COSON WEEK 2025, THE GLITERRATI GATHER AT THE OJEZ LOUNGE OF THE NATIONAL STADIUM TO CELEBRATE THE COSON CHAIRMAN, AN UNCOMMON NIGERIAN

Here is the citation of the enigma, read by well-known thespian, Keppy Ekpenyong, that kept everyone including, professors, lawyers, actors, musicians, administrators and journalists, standing and clapping on and on:

Ladies and gentlemen, please rise, if you may, as we present a tribute to a true pioneer, a man whose tireless work has lifted the Nigerian creative industry to national and international acclaim — the incomparable Chief Tony Okoroji!

Tonight, we gather not just to celebrate a man, but a movement — a legacy woven through the heart of Nigeria’s cultural renaissance. A living legend whose creativity, activism, leadership, and fierce advocacy have left an indelible mark on generations of Nigerians and beyond.

We honour none other than Chief Tony Okoroji.

Born with a passion for excellence, Tony Okoroji’s foray into professional music began as a teenager at College of the Immaculate Conception, Enugu. At only 15 years old, he was already touring with the group, “Life Everlasting”, showing a rare blend of talent and determination. Despite his early success in music, he never compromised his academic excellence, passing his WAEC with distinction.

By 18, Chief Okoroji had recorded his first album, “Super Sure”, and soon after achieved the remarkable feat of playing all sixteen musical instruments on his second album, “Big-Big Sugar Daddy” — a national record that stands to this day.

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The 1980s saw him soar into national consciousness with timeless crossover hits like “Juliana”, “Oriaku”, “Mama & Papa “Wishing You Well”, and “Locomotion”. Simultaneously, he contributed behind the scenes, nurturing talents as a producer and A&R executive for the international label, EMI.

In an unprecedented rise, at just 29, Chief Okoroji became the youngest National President of the Performing Musicians’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN), revolutionizing the association and amplifying the voices of Nigerian musicians at home and abroad.

As a passionate advocate, Chief Okoroji led the charge for reforms in Nigeria’s copyright laws, a campaign that saw him mobilize creative forces across the country, pressure the military government, and contribute to the establishment of the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Today, he stands tall as one of Africa’s most respected voices on Intellectual Property.

As Chairman of COSON — Nigeria’s foremost copyright collective — he continues to safeguard the rights of thousands of creators. His work with organizations like AVRS, REPRONIG, NORCODE, and WIPO demonstrates his global reach and unwavering commitment to justice for creative professionals.

Chief Tony Okoroji’s contributions extend into literary excellence with his celebrated book, “Copyright & the New Millionaires”, and his thought-provoking weekly column, “Saturday Breakfast with Tony Okoroji”, published consistently for over 15 years.

He is the visionary behind the Nigerian Music Awards — Africa’s first internationally acclaimed entertainment award event — a trailblazing initiative that drew the admiration of heads of state, diplomats, and global stars.

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A man of distinction academically as well, he holds a Degree in Business Administration, a Diploma in Business and Industrial Law, and an Advanced Diploma in Commercial Law & Practice — all passed with flying colours.

Above all, Chief Tony Okoroji is a patriot, a cultural ambassador, and a relentless voice for the voiceless creatives. He is also the proud father of the celebrated actress, author, and media powerhouse, Alex Okoroji.

Today, The Forum by Ojez celebrates Chief Tony Okoroji — an icon, a pioneer, a champion — whose story reminds us that with vision, passion, and unyielding commitment, one individual can change the course of history.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join us in honouring Chief Tony Okoroji.

POWER CHURCH INTERNATIONAL, LONDON, TO LINK UP FOR THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER SCHEDULED FOR MAY 25, IN LAGOS

Power Church International, London England, will on Sunday May 25 join the many churches with significant Nigerian congregations around the world, that are setting up Praise & Worship groups to link up and participate in the big National Day of Prayer which will be beamed from Chapel of Christ the Light, Ikeja, the multi-denominational Christian center, which on May 25 will be the epicenter of the much talked about national event at which the songs and praise of Nigeria’s topmost gospel singers and ministers of the gospel, will be beamed to millions of citizens, in towns and villages across Nigeria and across the world from 4.00 pm, that day.

Speaking on the phone with Chief Tony Okoroji, the celebrated former President of PMAN and present Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), whose members across Nigeria are driving the historic event, Pastor Dizzy K. Falola, the impactful Nigerian singer, who now pastors Power Church International in London, said: “I am thrilled by the concept of the National Day of Prayer for Nigeria.

There is no true Nigerian anywhere in the world who is not happy that Nigerians will in one day and in one voice, seek the face of the Almighty, to intervene in the affairs of our dear nation so that the unbridled corruption that is imposing hunger and immense poverty on Nigerian citizens is banished from our land and that the banditry, kidnapping and savage killings of innocent Nigerians which have imposed fear on our country men become things of the past. As a child of God, I verily believe that as we seek the face of the Almighty, Nigeria will rise again.”

Said Pastor Falola: “We will surely have our Praise & Worship Group at Power Church on May 25. We will also encourage our pastor friends and other Nigerians around the world, to set up their own Praise & Worship groups and join in a very powerful way, to drag our country away from the grip of the devil and the occult”

COSON has already announced that Praise & Worship groups can be set up in churches, schools, playgrounds, hotels, restaurants, eateries, bars, village squares or even private living rooms, to participate in what will be a first of its kind National Day of Prayer, in the history of Nigeria. COSON has also promised that details of the various Broadcast Channels, YouTube sites, Zoom links, Streaming and Social Media Platforms that will enable any group or individual with a television set, a computer or a smartphone to fully participate in the history-making live transmission, will be made public.