Former COSON Board members battle Tony Okoriji over his reinstatement

Former Board members of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) led by Now Muzik boss Efe Omorogbe have launched a tirade against Tony Okoroji over his reinstatement as Chairman of the CMO which has been embroiled in a lingering legal tussle.

Recall that a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, brought to an end the 5-year-old battle of Efe Omorogbe to be declared Chairman of COSON.

Hon Justice Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court dismissed SUIT NO: FHC/L/CS/1779/2018 brought by Efe Omorogbe to be declared Chairman of COSON which is regarded as Nigeria’s biggest copyright collective management organization.

The presiding judge who stated that the suit is an abuse of court process 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.

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 Omorogbe & Co for allegedly plotting and executing a ‘coup’ to topple the Chairman of COSON from his position.

While reacting to the court ruling, Efe Omorogbe in a statement issued on Wednesday said that 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.

According to Omorogbe, 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 statement reads thus in full; ‘‘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.

READ ALSO: Now Muzik reacts to court ruling affirming expiration of COSON’s operating license

’’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 in 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,’’ he concluded.