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!’”
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