The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has given Nigerian artist Davido a 21-day deadline to respond to a lawsuit over alleged intellectual property theft.
According to People’s Gazette, Davido is being sued by four Nigerian musicians—Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru—who claim he copied their 2022 song “Work” for his 2024 release “Strawberry on Ice.”
The lawsuit also names other collaborators on the track, including Emmerson (who was featured on the song), Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and record label Wynn Records.
The plaintiffs allege they initially shared “Work” with Davido in hopes of a collaboration. Instead, Davido allegedly passed the song to Emmerson, who went on to sample and recreate the instrumental and vocal elements in “Strawberry on Ice.”
Court documents reveal that Davido had agreed to a settlement with the plaintiffs on March 14, 2025. The agreement included a lump-sum payment of $45,000, along with 40% of the royalties for the composition and 20% for the sound recording.
However, Davido reportedly missed the March 24 deadline to fulfill these terms, prompting the legal action now underway.