Court Orders Airtel To Pay Veteran Musician N210m For Unlawful Use Of ‘Nigeria Go Survive’ Song

Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Airtel Network Limited to pay N210 million in damages to veteran singer Veno Marioghae-Mbanefo for the unauthorised use of her song ‘Nigeria Go Survive’.

Justice Kala also issued a mandatory injunction prohibiting Airtel, its management, agents, and successors from reproducing or using the song or any substantial part of it for advertising, business, telemarketing, or promotional activities without the plaintiff’s permission.

The judge further granted a perpetual injunction prohibiting Airtel and its affiliates from continuing to use the song for the same purposes without a license or authorisation.

The court awarded N200 million, N50 million, and N100 million as general and statutory damages, including aggravated damages for flagrant infringement.

The court held in its judgment that Airtel Network Limited engaged in restricted acts by using the plaintiff’s musical work “Nigeria Go Survive” or a substantial part of it for advertising, promotion, and telemarketing of its business, products, and services to millions of subscribers without license or authorisation, which constitutes a copyright infringement of the plaintiff’s work.

Marioghae-Mbanefo had argued that Airtel’s use of the song without proper credit or authorisation violated her statutory rights under the Nigerian Copyright Act.

The plaintiff had also urged the court to order Airtel to account for profits derived from the infringement and to pay those profits to her under the supervision of the Nigeria Communications Commission. Additionally, the court granted a perpetual injunction preventing Airtel from broadcasting, publishing, or using the song’ Nigeria Go Survive” for advertising, telemarketing, promotional purposes, or as a ringtone without authorisation, and ordered the removal of the Song from Airtel’s promotional list.

While the defendant, Airtel Network Limited, through its team of lawyers led by Babatunde Amoo, asked the court to dismiss the case for being incompetent.

Justice Kala, after thoroughly examining all exhibits and analysing the parties’ submissions, resolved the issues in favour of the plaintiff and ruled that the plaintiff proved her claim on a balance of probabilities against the defendant.

Accordingly, the plaintiff’s claim is meritorious and is granted under the following terms: “A damages award of N200 million is granted to the plaintiff for losses caused by the copyright infringement, as assessed during the judgment, considering the breach of copyright in the work.

“Additionally, a cost of N10 million is awarded to cover the expenses incurred by the plaintiff in protecting her copyright during the legal process, taking into account fees paid, case duration, legal representation, expenses, and the current value of the Naira.